St. Paul schools pluck suburban candidate for superintendent job

Updated: 5:45 p.m. | Posted: 4:58 p.m.

The St. Paul school board chose current Burnsville-Eagan-Savage superintendent Joe Gothard as its next superintendent Tuesday.

Gothard has led the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage district since 2013.

At a community meeting in March, Gothard said he'd bring unity to St. Paul. He described starting in his current job with "a community in need of coming together. There was a community who didn't know its own identity." Gothard said he built "community partnerships where we are now seeing the benefits each and every day."

Gothard is a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts. He holds a doctoral degree in educational leadership from Edgewood College in Madison, Wis. Prior to taking his current post, Gothard was a teacher and administrator in the Madison, Wis., school district.

St. Paul school board member Mary Vanderwert praised Gothard's leadership.

"In four short years in Burnsville, [he] has led significant culture change and made some pretty significant structural changes without a lot of conflict," Vanderwert said.

"I want to see somebody that can help us change our outcome a little bit. For me, urgency in that is needed," board member Chue Vue said. Vue voted against the motion to select Gothard, although he — like every board member — said the decision was a close call.

The district has not had a permanent superintendent since the board fired former leader Valeria Silva last June.

Search firm Ray and Associates screened candidates and selected 13 semifinalists from 67 applicants. Board members chose three finalists. One of them, Milwaukee Public Schools regional superintendent Orlando Ramos, dropped out of the running after revelations of a 2009 bankruptcy filing.

The district hopes to finalize a contract soon and to have Gothard begin his job on July 1.