Negotiations are over, and Larry Nybladh will be the 18th superintendent of schools for the Grand Forks Public School District, earning $179,000 his first year.
Nybladh faxed a signed contract to School Board President Mike St. Onge on Monday afternoon and the board voted Monday night to accept the contract, ending a lengthy search process.
The board settled on a salary $14,000 more than the advertised salary of $165,000, set in September. A consultant firm recommended $195,000 about the same time. The board has been negotiating the contract with Nybladh for more than a week.
Nybladh is from the Stephen-Argyle, Minn., area and is the superintendent of the Moorhead Public School District, earning more than $161,000 annually. The district has about 5,400 students and a budget of $52 million. The Grand Forks Public School District has about 7,100 students and a budget of $70 million.
The contract goes into effect July 1, and the school board may raise Nybladh's salary at its discretion after his first year.
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"We are getting a quality superintendent with 20 years of experience," St. Onge said. "This has been exhausting, and we have a very good result. We have a group consensus."
Nybladh also has served as superintendent in Central Cass (N.D.) Public School District and Wing (N.D.) Public School District.
The board narrowed down its search from a pool of 20 applicants to four, who each were interviewed by the board and community members between Jan. 22 and Jan. 25. The board decided Jan. 25 that Nybladh would get the job offer.
St. Onge and Grand Forks Air Force Base School Board President Rebecca Holmes visited the Moorhead School District on Jan. 30 to meet with parents, teachers and students to find out more about Nybladh and his leadership style. They told the board they were very pleased with what they found.
"Thank you to everybody who had a hand in this," St. Onge said at the end of Monday's meeting. "I'm very delighted, and I talked to Dr. Nybladh today and he is very pleased."
