Before taking the field of superintendent candidates to the final two, the Albert Lea school board met with the last of three finalists Thursday.

Mike Funk, superintendent of the Bird Island, Olivia, Lake Lillian School District, or BOLD, had his second round with the school board Thursday. Like the other two finalists did on Wednesday, he gave a 15-minute presentation. Funk’s was about continuous improvement.

The other two candidates were Cathy Bettino of Pine River-Backus and Joe Brown of Grand Meadow.

Funk said continuous improvement is “a set of activities designed to bring gradual but continual improvement to an organization through constant review.” He listed seven categories: leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, measurement and analysis, workforce focus, process management, and results.

He said he brings his education and military background to his leadership skills. Funk is a lieutenant colonel in the Minnesota National Guard. He said he will look at the organization’s purpose, vision, values and mission.

“What do you do well and how does it relate to your mission?” Funk asked.

His presentation asked a lot of questions. Who are partners and collaborators? What is online learning? What is the organizational structure? What are your key strategic objectives? How do Albert Lea Area School leaders lead? Who are the key leaders in the organization? How do we hold leaders accountable?

He said when looking at the district’s strategic plan he would review strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. He would incorporate shifts in funding, technology and educational programs.

“We have to figure out what you want a graduate to look like,” Funk said.

He said strategic objectives for the district should have a timetable and be open to innovation.

“How do we pick we are going to speak Spanish instead of Chinese?” Funk asked.

He said he would measure the results in two manners: key trends over time and comparison to competitors. He said he would determine what the data says about key measures of student accomplishment.

He said he realizes his continuous-improvement plan is complex but said it is a tool that works. He said he would have an outside trainer for the district.

“Really what it does is evaluate our key personnel,” Funk said.

Funk fielded the same questions as the other two finalists.

He said the superintendent is the agent of the school board, which has a policy-setting role. Funk said it is important to have two-way communication and one-on-one time between each board member and the superintendent.

He referred to his continuous-improvement program in response to a question about staying focused on teaching and learning. He said he wants students to get “as many opportunities as possible to grow.”

Funk said he would be accessible by visiting every school, meeting with each stakeholder group and being visible to community.

“I didn’t get into education to be a superintendent. I got into education to educate kids,” he said.

He said he believes in an open-door policy but he doesn’t want “people just barging in” without going through the proper steps.

He said all-day, everyday kindergarten is a budget priority in elementary education, but in the high school he admits he is divided: While Funk pushes for sharing resources and preparing students for college, he then asked: “The focus is so much on advanced students, but what about the others?”

Funk said he could make the small-to-large district transition well because he has commanded a thousand soldiers overseas. He said in the National Guard he can set a vision but in a small district you do the work, too.

He answered questions about staff and then answered one about being “made aware” of an inappropriate relationship between a female student and a male teacher.

Calling it a “tough situation,” Funk said he would have the principal investigate the initial allegation and then follow procedures in place. He said if the allegation looks real, he would contact police and legal counsel. He said the teacher would be suspended with pay and then he would meet with the teachers’ union representative and explain “right away where we are going.”

“They pay you as a superintendent to do the right thing,” Funk said.

He said his most unsuccessful endeavor was failing to prevent a strike of bus drivers. The district went two months with replacement drivers. He said his greatest accomplishment was the passage of an operating levy in 2006, a year when few passed.

In listing his three top challenges in public education, he gave two, with the third interwoven into both answers, he later said.

The two he gave were funding — including building conditions in many districts — and how schools are to adjust to postsecondary needs and online learning. The third was staying ahead of challenges and changes to education.

Funk said he will draw on his background to tackle district problems.

“I’ve had a lot of leadership challenges where I’ve had to make a lot of hard decisions,” Funk said.

He said he has a good relationship with local legislators in his district. He said he is concerned about the effectiveness of Q-Comp from a funding level. He added he has spent time with the governor six times in the past two years and said he flew around the state for 1 1/2 days with the governor after returning from Kosovo.