Board zeroes in on superintendent hire

Down to their last man, the Wrenshall school board seems to have found their next superintendent.

The district has offered Jeff Pesta, retired Deer River superintendent, its position beginning July 1 and working half-time through the next school year. Pesta and the district are in negotiations, and board member Mary Carlson reported during the board’s committee of the whole meeting Wednesday that Pesta has said he wants to help the financially struggling district and not take a penny more than what the district is currently paying outgoing Kim Belcastro.

Belcastro retired earlier this year before agreeing to work out the school year on a half-time basis.

“This being in hand is very exciting,” Carlson said, waving the contract, which Pesta had returned unsigned with updates earlier in the day. “We’re very close to getting this done.”

The board could vote to approve his hiring as soon as its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday.

“I gravitate toward working in rural schools, small schools,” Pesta told the board Monday, May 8, during his public interview with the board and community members in the audience.

Pesta and John Regan IV, a superintendent in Atwater, Minnesota, both interviewed with the board. Regan withdrew his candidacy following the interview, citing it not being the right fight. Board members said they appreciated Regan being up front. They immediately turned their attention to Pesta, who Carlson said drew “glowing reviews” from Deer River officials.

“I liked his personality,” Alice Kloepfer said. “He’s going to be a good fit here.”

Board member Ben Johnson said he liked Pesta’s notion of a superintendent getting the district out of “reactionary” mode and into more strategic planning.

“I want to put everything we’ve got into selling our district,” Johnson said.

Enrollment figures released Wednesday estimated 334 students to start the 2023-24 school year for a district that historically has been nearer to 350. Those lost students mean lost state aid dollars, and the hope is Pesta can rally a recovery.

“I enjoy helping, in particular, outstate, rural, smaller schools with their needs,” Pesta said during his interview. “They have challenges not only with budgets but with the amount of staff they can have to specialize in things.”

The district has endured tumult throughout Covid-19 pandemic, and now a budget deficit that has forced it to make cuts totaling more than $312,000. A brief discussion about Pesta on Wednesday was preceded by a robust one related to how the district can maintain its elective courses that appeal to older students.

“There are concerns about how long he might be willing to stay,” Carlson said. “Right now, he’s going to be a great fit for what we need.”

Pesta is a native of New Prague, Minnesota, and was college-educated at state universities. He started teaching science in Burnsville, when that district was the biggest in the state. He’s spent 42 years in public education, including as interim superintendent in Hastings, Minnesota, before moving on to Deer River, where he now runs a consultancy outfit supporting districts in crisis.

“It does appeal to me professionally to come in and look at things in short terms,” Pesta said.

Board member Misty Bergman said she expected Pesta to be able to get the district on the right track to where it could return to employing a full-time superintendent.

“I’m super-excited,” Bergman said.

As head of the board’s search committee, Bergman and Pesta have been in contact for several months, first as a consultant for what the district could expect as it moved on after 11 years under Belcastro.

A part-time superintendent will likely cost the district in the neighborhood of $90,000 — the only option currently available to the financially struggling district. Belcastro is working half-time by spending two days a week in the school office, and one day working from home.

“One part that stood out for me is his overall presence as far as community engagement and helping us market and sell all the wonderful things at Wrenshall,” board member Eric Ankrum said.

Board members noted how Pesta mentioned Janae Sjodin, the Wrenshall senior who remains hospitalized following a motor vehicle crash in March.

“He clearly is following this district and what is actually happening in the district,” Carlson said. “He cares on that level.”

Even if Pesta arrives for the relative short term, all the board members indicated their approval.

“He definitely has the experience,” board chair Nicole Krisak said. “Maybe he’ll be here for a year, maybe longer? We don’t know.”