Schlichting named finalist for KW superintendent position

When Triton Superintendent Craig Schlichting announced he would be retiring from the school district
last year after working there for over three decades, many thought he would be leaving education altogether.
But with two last minute superintendent positions near his home, he decided to throw his hat in the
ring, and has now been named a finalist for the Kenyon-Wanamingo superintendent position.
“I knew that I was going to work in some capacity after I left Triton Public Schools, I just hadn’t decided
what I wanted to do yet,” Schlichting wrote in a prepared statement to the DCI Monday. “I was surprised to see the opening at Pine Island, and I actually live very close to their school district and decided that I would apply and see what happens. I really do love serving our school community in Triton, but I also realize that after spending 32 years in the same place, that I wanted to try something different.”
In addition to being a finalist for the Kenyon-Wanamingo job, which he will be interviewing again for on
Wednesday, he is also a semifinalist for the Pine Island position.
“I thought about a number of different options for a new career, but when I heard about the opportunity
to be a superintendent at Pine Island, the timing of it all just fell into place and seemed like a good opportunity for me to try,” Schlichting said. “If it doesn’t work out, I will take some time to search for
my next opportunity and work on a book idea that I have been thinking about that reflects on the advice
that I was given from a coaching perspective, and how I have learned to apply that to my role as a school
leader.”
Kasson-Mantorville Superintendent Ted Ihns was interviewed Tuesday for the superintendent
position at Hastings Public Schools. Byron Superintendent Mike Neubeck
was also interviewed for the Hastings post. Both are leaving their districts at the end
of the current school year. Current Hastings superintendent Tamara Champa has
resigned to take the superintendent job in Owatonna.