Before the Albert Lea school board members deliberated Thursday about the six superintendent finalists they interviewed, three administrators spelled out their views of the job candidates.

Ultimately that night, the school selected four to move to the next round:

 Cathy Bettino, superintendent of the Pine River-Backus School District.

Mike Funk, superintendent of the Bird Island, Olivia, Lake Lillian School District, often termed BOLD.

John Chalstrom, superintendent, Cherokee (Iowa) Community School District.

Joe Brown, superintendent, Grand Meadow School District.

And two did not make the cut:

Jamie Skjeveland, superintendent, Crosby-Ironton School District.

 Mary Smidt, superintendent, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley School District.

The three administrators who made comments before the deliberations were Director of Curriculum Judy Knudtson, Southwest Middle School Principal Marsha Langseth and Hawthorne Elementary School Principal Corrine Tims.

The next round of interviews for the four finalists is slated to take place later this month. This article concentrates on comments the administrators made on the four.

On Mike Funk, Tims said she liked that he possesses a doctorate and a military background. She said he seems he would be skilled at leading by developing relationships. He has a lot of energy and is data-driven. A weakness is he didn’t have a Q-Comp background.

Though Q-Comp is a weakness, Langseth said she likes that he has had many opportunities to lead.

Knudtson said she likes that Funk is teacher-driven and has a sense of his community’s strengths. He had mentioned how budget cuts aren’t merely monetary choices.

“I love the idea about it being a values question,” she said.

Chalstrom demonstrated willingness to change, Tims said. He, too, has a doctorate, she noted.

She said he is engaged and understands the importance of a global view and takes pride in his community. Tims said Chalstrom has a lack of Q-Comp knowledge because he works in Iowa and said he could be more specific about his quest for diversity.

Langseth said she agreed about the weakness but said she liked that he had a real plan for facing levies. She said she appreciated his insightful questions for the school board.

Knudtson said Chalstrom had a sense for relating Iowa aspects to Minnesota aspects of the education systems. She added he could give more concrete examples and said she liked that he is frustrated by complacency or failure to innovate.

Bettino exuded confidence “from the moment she sat down,” Tims said.

Tims called her articulate and said her interview answers aligned well with her application. She said she liked when Bettino talked about her pride in strategic planning skills and liked the idea of scorecards.

Tims was glad to hear Bettino talk about the Minneapolis-based Search Institute.

Langseth said she was happy to her about strategic planning, too.

“You live it. You breathe it,” Langseth said.

She appreciated how Bettino explained diversity in socio-economic terms, too. She said she liked that Bettino wasn’t looking for work elsewhere but was urged to apply, then liked what she saw in Albert Lea. She said she felt comfortable talking with her.

Knudtson noted that Bettino has public relations skills that would be good for the district.

Langseth said Brown’s strength as a storyteller can be a weakness, too.

Tims said she was surprised that Brown was one of the few administrators she has met who likes the political side of education. She said he comes from a well-rounded background and said he would have to come from an “extremely small district to a large one.”

Knudtson said she liked his “out-of-the-box initiatives” to get some tasks accomplished. She said staying within time was a problem during the interview.

The Albert Lea school board will hold two special meetings next week at Brookside Education Center. One will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. The other at 2 p.m. Thursday.