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The Albert Lea school board on Monday voted on next steps for both an interim and permanent superintendent after parting ways last week with Superintendent Ron Wagner.

Wagner was placed on paid administrative leave through the end of June, at which time the board will not renew his contract but rather let it expire.

The board voted to begin looking for viable candidates — both internally and externally — for the  interim position, and board Chairwoman Kim Nelson said she will reach out to the Minnesota School Board Association for a list of possible candidates. Anyone internal with interest should reach out to Nelson by the end of the week.

Nelson thanked all of the administration and employees in the district for their work in what she described as a difficult week.

“I appreciate your support, and I appreciate what you did for children last week in a really tough time.…” she said. “We understand that this has been an anxious time, and so it’s important for us … It’s important for me, that we move as quickly as we can to provide some stability in the district.”

She said choosing an interim superintendent is much more informal than the full superintendent search.

The board will seek information from the Minnesota School Board Association about possible interim candidates, while also seeking referrals from individuals already in the district who may be interested in serving in the role.

Nelson said she thought it would be beneficial to find someone external to serve in the interim who has experience in that role. She noted if an internal person filled the position it could be taxing on that individual and cause the district to have to backfill their current position, potentially adding stress to the district.

Board member Neal Skaar said in the midst of already much confusion, he thought it could add to that by moving someone internal to the interim superintendent position. He also talked about the importance of experience and said the district should seek as much guidance as possible from MSBA.

Vice Chairman Gary Schindler said he agreed with finding someone external and said in talking with MSBA representatives, he wants to find an interim who can facilitate administrators’ goals already established. From the feedback he’s heard, the last thing that should be done is move principals around.

Board member Angie Hoffman said it didn’t make sense to her to limit who the board should consider and said she thought they should look at all viable candidates — external or internal.

Board member Dave Klatt, who also serves as District 1 director for MSBA, said MSBA does not give legal advice but gave them advice in a few areas.

“Do it as expeditiously as you can, because you want to make sure that not only your school system, your teachers and staff and everyone, feel confident about what is going on, but also the community does,” Klatt said.

They also talked about the importance of finding someone with experience. He noted it can’t just be someone who wants to do it — they have to have proper certifications as well.

Board member Davy Villarreal said he has talked with a lot of community members and staff members, and he would hate to limit to just external candidates.

At the end of the discussion, the board voted to look for any viable candidates both external or internal. Nelson said she hoped they could have someone in place when students and staff come back to school after the holiday break. She said the board would be contacted when interviews are set up with potential interim candidates, which will be open to the public in a special meeting.

Regarding the permanent superintendent search, five of the board members voted to hire MSBA to begin the search with the job posting up by the end of January. Hoffman voted against, while Klatt abstained from the vote because of his role as a MSBA director.

Board member Angie Hoffman said she would rather take more time to think about the decision and said she would even potentially be open to doing the search in the next school year. Klatt said timing-wise, this is a good time to be looking for a new superintendent as this is the time of year more candidates are looking at options. Regarding Hoffman’s comment, he noted most interims work for six months, though it could be possible for someone to be available to do more.

Nelson said if they started the search in January, that would still give time for community and stakeholder comment that they weren’t able to do in the last search with hopefully a hire in April.