The Lakeville school board picked Lisa Snyder as the district's new superintendent Thursday.

The Winona native had been superintendent for two years in Merrill, Wis., and started her career as a high school English teacher, said Lakeville School District spokeswoman Linda Swanson.

"There was overwhelming support for her" Thursday when she met with four employee groups students and residents, Swanson said. She said Snyder has grown children and grandkids in the Twin Cities.

The school board selected Snyder on a 6-0 vote Thursday evening over co-finalist Bob Laney, an assistant superintendent in St. Louis Park schools.

Snyder will replace Gary Amoroso, who took a job this summer as executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, at a time when the budget is tight.

The district, which has about 11,000 students, has cut its budget repeatedly in recent years because of stagnant state funding and voter rejection of proposed local tax increases. This year, the district closed an elementary school and cut scores of jobs to help fill a two-year budget hole of $15.8 million.

JIM ADAMS