(KNSI) – Sartell-St. Stephen School District’s interim superintendent brings over four decades of experience with him to the area.
Tom Lee started his new role this month. He retired from the Waseca school district in 2020 after seven years as its top administrator. Before that, he spent 20 years as a principal and 12 years as a special education teacher in several schools in Michigan, Minnesota and Oregon.
Lee has come out of retirement each of the last two years to serve as a school principal in the Twin Cities. He told KNSI News he couldn’t stay retired and jumped at the opportunity when he heard about the opening. “I like to keep engaged. And I love kids. I love education. I love this profession. And I thought, well, let’s see what kind of opportunities might be out there.”
He says being an outsider with a wealth of experience will help him bring a fresh perspective to the school. “There’s a great value in being an interim because, at that point, I’m not worried about maintaining or building long-term relationships. And sometimes organizations need someone who can come in and just speak the truth.”
He has three priorities for the upcoming school year:
Keep the district’s strategic plan on track while it’s updated.
Make sure the school board continues to work together.
To continue to foster relationships with the community.
He hopes to work with everyone to review the district’s procedures and policies when questioning school materials. In recent years, District 748 has had issues with parents and community members over a book found in a reading area and when the school dropped the book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ from its 9th grade curriculum and replaced it with ‘Dear Martin.’ He says the current procedure may need to be revised.
Right now, Lee says he is getting to know the districts. He was hired to replace Dr. Jeffery Riddlehoover, who took the superintendent job with the Rockford School District.
The district will look for a permanent replacement starting in the fall or winter.
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