(ABC 6 News) – The search is on in Albert Lea for a new district leader after Superintendent Ron Wagner was placed on administrative leave at the school board’s December 16 meeting.

RELATED: Albert Lea Area Schools Superintendent placed on administrative leave

The school district must have a superintendent to avoid losing state funding. Albert Lea School Board Chair Kim Nelson says the Minnesota School Board Association (MSBA) is aware of the situation the district is in and is working with the board to have a plan in place so it won’t be at risk of losing funding.

“There’s been some turmoil in the district with some staff and staff morale being low, so it was not sad that this departure was gonna happen, but definitely shocked at the timing of the motion,” said Albert Lea parent Kasey Wolters.

The school board was aware at the December 16 meeting that it would discuss Wagner’s terms of employment, however it did come as a surprise there would be a motion to place him on administrative leave for the remainder of the year. Nelson says that was intentional, as Wagner’s statement was being drafted by legal counsel, so board members could not have been notified ahead of time.

“There was nothing egregious or disciplinary or anything like that, it was just a mutually agreed upon decision that he was going to move forward and we were going to just let his contract expire,” said Nelson. Wagner was placed on leave so the board could search for an interim while he pursued other opportunities.

Wagner will have limited involvement with the district for the remainder of his contract, only stepping in if anything pressing occurs before an interim is named. He will be paid the remainder of his salary through the end of June, unless something disciplinary happens.

At a special session on Monday, December 23, the board took action on hiring Wagner’s replacement, discussing the process for hiring an interim superintendent to serve out the next six months, as well as a permanent replacement moving forward.

However, this all comes at a tricky time for the district, with school currently being out for winter break.

“Staff really want to come back from break and know who is gonna be there to help them and support them and so the sooner the better,” said Wolters.

The district’s top priority is finding an interim superintendent to step in immediately.

“We were hoping to try to expedite this within, be close to when school would come back,” said Nelson.

The district could go two ways in searching for that interim superintendent – look internally or externally.

“For the interim, that the six month position, we’re really just looking for someone who maybe has that experience of a superintendent, or if they’re an internal candidate, that experience within the district,” said Nelson.

Board members voted unanimously on a motion to interview all viable candidates, both in and out of the school system.

“It doesn’t make sense to limit who we would consider based on internal or external,” said board member Angie Hoffman. “I would be open to either way, I’m more concerned about finding the best person and the right fit.”

The board is aware of a few potential candidates already, but is not sharing their names yet out of respect for them and to allow for more candidates to step forward before the interview process begins.

“Communication and transparency has always been a real hiccup in our district, so those are gonna be really key things that we look for,” said Wolters.

The board also set a deadline for all interested candidates to reach out by Friday, December 27.

“I’m excited that we have some time to look for a good candidate that meets the needs of our staff and our students and our community,” said Wolters.

All interviews with new superintendent candidates will be open to the public. Questions will be a mix from board members and the MSBA.

The school board also voted to post a new permanent superintendent position by the end of January and seek assistance from the MSBA to fill that role.

Board member Dave Klatt noted the last time the board sought help from the MSBA to find a superintendent in 2022, it cost around $25,000. The board noted that expense would be within the budget.

The motion passed with five members in support, one abstention from Klatt and Hoffman dissenting. Klatt abstained on the grounds that he is a regional officer with the MSBA.

During discussion of the motion, Hoffman expressed a desire to allow for more time to find and hire a superintendent candidate, as she felt the search for a superintendent in 2022 was too rushed and wanted to consider waiting to hire for the role until next school year.