Albert Lea High School Principal Jim Wagner said he will miss Albert Lea.

“Not a lot of communities have what Albert Lea has,” he said.

Having trails and a lake in the middle of the city were appealing to Jim and his wife. He accepted a position last month as the superintendent for the Kimball Area Public Schools in Kimball, about 20 miles south of St. Cloud. He worked for two years as principal of Albert Lea High.

“I really enjoyed my time here,” said Wagner, 42. “I know that when I moved down here I wasn’t going to leave Albert Lea for another principal job. It just worked out that another opportunity for superintendent came along.”

Wagner said his wife had kept her job as a registered nurse in St. Cloud working weekends. That enabled her to be in Albert Lea on weekdays. They have four children, three girls and a boy ages 12, 10, 8 and 6.

Wagner said he believes he raised the level of expectations among faculty and staff at the school to perform a higher levels, such as reducing bullying, improving educational results and building a positive atmosphere.

He said one of his favorite memories was wrestling in March 2013 to raise money for new equipment in the school’s weight room. This was done pro-wrestling style with a squared ring and ropes in conjunction with the American Wrestling Federation. The principal won his match against the Masked Assassin.

He wraps up his time in Albert Lea at the end of the school year. He begins his new job in July.

Before he was principal in Albert Lea, he was the assistant principal for three years at Monticello High School, about 28 miles southeast of St. Cloud along the Interstate 94 corridor. Before that, he was a principal in Aitken Community Schools for two years after being a science teacher at Apollo High School in St. Cloud.

Moving so often is no fun, Wagner said, and he looks forward to the superintendent role in Kimball.

“I want this to be my last stop,” he said.