School briefs: South Washington County looks north to fill East Ridge job

At 6 feet 5 inches, Jim Smokrovich has the stature of a leader, and he has fit the bill as principal of Grand Rapids High School.

About five years ago, he was chosen to serve as president of the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals.

Now, the 47-year-old has been named to be the next principal of East Ridge High in Woodbury, the South Washington County School District announced recently.

Under Smokrovich's leadership, Grand Rapids High has embraced an International Baccalaureate curriculum as well as College in the Schools and 1:1 technology programs, the district said. The school also developed science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programming through Project Lead The Way.

"I anxiously await the opportunity to work collaboratively with the staff, students, parents and the East Ridge community to meet the needs of all students," Smokrovich said in a news release. "It is my passion to work in a culture of lifelong learning that celebrates the uniqueness of every student." East Ridge has about 600 more students than Grand Rapids High.

Smokrovich begins work on July 1 and will succeed Molly Roeske, who was named to the job on an interim basis after Aaron Harper's sudden resignation in November. Harper was the subject of complaints investigated by the district.

Roeske will return as principal of Lake Middle School in Woodbury.

Paula O'Loughlin, a school board member from Lake Elmo, and Andy Fields, principal of Oak-Land Junior High in Lake Elmo, will be available for questions at 6:30 p.m., a library news release said.

The event is being held in advance of a public vote May 12 on the bond plan, which also would reconfigure district grade levels. The plan includes $48 million in improvements to Stillwater Area High and construction of a $25.7 million elementary school in the district's southwest corner.

Interim Superintendent Tom Nelson describes the plan as "tax neutral" because the new bond would replace debt set to expire in the next four years. Taxpayers, as such, would not see an increase in what they now pay to cover building-related debts, he said. If not for new plan, however, the owner of a $250,000 home would see a tax savings of about $240 annually in 2019.