Osseo school board hires Fridley's Kim Hiel as its next superintendent

The Osseo school board has selected Fridley Superintendent Kim Hiel as its next chief administrator.

The board interviewed five candidates this week and offered Hiel the position after a special meeting Wednesday night. She will soon begin contract negotiations to lead Minnesota's fifth-largest school district after Superintendent Cory McIntyre was hired away by Anoka-Hennepin.

The Osseo district enrolls nearly 21,000 students across the northwest metro from Brooklyn Park to Maple Grove. Hiel will be the district's first Black superintendent, Board Chair Jackie Mosqueda-Jones said.

"Dr. Hiel is passionate about her work and centers scholars in all she does," Mosqueda-Jones said in a statement. "Her exemplary experience with teaching and learning and strategic planning makes her well positioned to lead our district and bring our bold future to life."

Hiel is no stranger to the district she'll lead starting July 1.

She was an assistant superintendent at Osseo before moving to Fridley, which enrolls 2,800 students. Prior to becoming a district administrator, Hiel was a principal at Zanewood Community School, a magnet school specializing in science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

"I'm honored to be joining such a strong community," Hiel said. "I'm looking forward to partnering in bringing our schools to even greater heights."

The Osseo board also had considered for the job four other current and former Minnesota superintendents and administrators, including former Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius and Teri Staloch, former superintendent of the Prior Lake-Savage district and a finalist to lead the Anoka-Hennepin district.