Six educators, including an administrator from Houston, an associate superintendent in Anoka and a regional superintendent in Milwaukee, were named semifinalists for the superintendency of Minneapolis Public Schools.
Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, the national firm hired to find the superintendent, presented the names to the nine-member school board on Monday.
The candidates are Michael Goar, the district's interim superintendent; Charles Foust, an assistant superintendent in the Houston School District; Jinger Gustafson, an associate superintendent in the Anoka-Hennepin School District; Sergio Paez, a former superintendent in Holyoke, Mass.; Kenneth Spells, the superintendent in Alton, Ill., and Jesse Rodriguez, a regional superintendent in Milwaukee Public Schools.
This is the first time in a decade that the state's third-largest school district has done a national search for its top job. The person selected will inherit a district facing one of the largest achievement gaps between white and minority students in the country and a budget deficit, as of this summer, of $21.6 million.
The semifinalists were selected for their experience with struggling schools in urban environments and districts with large immigrant populations.
"We are excited for the possibilities," said Jenny Arneson, the school board's chairwoman.
More than 50 people applied for the job, according to Ted Blaesing, the recruiter with the search firm.
"We had a very large field," Blaesing said.