School Board selects Hastings man to lead superintendent search

The man who helped lure Supt. Stan Slessor to Red Wing was tapped to help find the district's next chief executive.

School Board members decided Monday that search consultant Ken La Croix will lead efforts to replace Slessor, the district's superintendent who will retire in June 2011.

The board passed on two other Minnesota-based search firms on its way to La Croix, who School Board Chairwoman Heidi Jones called "a good person to offer us a solid process from his years of experience."

La Croix's stated fee was $7,800, though Jones said talks with the Hastings man indicated he would likely settle for less.

Regardless, School Board member Stephen O'Keefe said the cost window was acceptable and that it wasn't worth splitting hairs.

"This is a million dollar decision we're making," he said.

The district used La Croix's services when the board hired Slessor in 2004.

The board acted on a recommendation by its Personnel Committee. Jones, who leads that panel, said committee members whittled the field down to two: La Croix and ADM, a search firm whose partners include Rosemary Schneiderhan, a former interim superintendent at Red Wing.

“This was a tough decision,” Jones said Monday. “At this time, we felt that Mr. La Croix would offer a little more depth of experience in the districts we are looking at.”

The committee fielded offers from two other firms – the Minnesota School Boards Association and an out-of-state organization. Jones said the committee “did not feel entirely comfortable” with MSBA since its superintendent search work only began in October.

The out-of-state firm was dismissed almost immediately due to its fee.

See Wednesday’s print edition for more on the board’s decision.

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