ISD 191 board advances three finalists to second-round superintendent interviews

The Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191 Board of Education voted unanimously May 1 to invite three finalists back for second-round superintendent interviews: Tyrone Brookins, Latonya Daniels and Becky Bridal.

Board members spent the evening reviewing strengths from four first-round interviews and then individually stated which candidates they wanted to advance. Chair Werb moved the formal motion to invite Brookins, Daniels and Bridal for round two; Director Anderson seconded the motion and the board approved it unanimously.

The finalists will return Wednesday, May 7, for interviews that the board agreed will run 1 hour and 15 minutes each with 5-minute breaks between interviews. Each candidate will deliver a 15-minute visual presentation (PowerPoint recommended) followed by board questions. The board asked that candidates provide printed copies of their presentation as a technology backup.

Barb Dorn, the district's executive search consultant from the Minnesota School Boards Association, told the board the EMD rating form used tonight is “one tool that you can use to deliberate this evening. It is not a ranking of candidates.” Dorn also walked the board through logistics for round two, including candidate tours scheduled the same day, reference-check reporting during deliberations and posting of recorded interviews to the district YouTube channel for a one-week public review period.

During deliberations, directors summarized strengths they heard in first-round interviews. Director Ault highlighted a candidate’s grounding in cultural proficiency and use of data alongside people-centered leadership. Director Hume noted a candidate’s emphasis on making expectations clear and “inspect what you expect,” and several directors praised examples of building trust with staff, experience with budgeting and transparent communication with families.

Board members also worked through which follow-up questions to ask in round two. After a tally of board preferences, they settled on a set of topics (including a candidate presentation, accountability and budget-related questions and community engagement topics) that produced an interview plan of roughly 11 substantive questions plus the presentation and a modified closing question inviting any additional information the candidate wished to share.

Dorn told the board she had contacted the three finalists and that all had accepted and were “very excited to come back next week.” She also said the search team will provide a brief public-facing bio and headshot for each finalist and will present high-level reference-check results during the round-two deliberations to confirm patterns or surface issues discovered outside the application materials.

The board recorded several procedural actions tonight: approval of the meeting agenda at the start of the session and the motion to invite three candidates for second interviews. Both motions passed unanimously.

Board members were reminded to review the finalists’ materials, the stakeholder-summary report and the notes from tonight’s interviews ahead of Wednesday’s sessions. Dorn asked board members to delay entering EMD scores into the electronic link until after they have at least two interviews in round two so members can calibrate their ratings.

No final hiring decision was made tonight. The board’s action was limited to naming finalists for second interviews, setting interview format and schedule, and approving follow-up steps including tours, presentations and a process for reference checks to be reported during round-two deliberations.

The meeting began at 4:30 p.m. and concluded after deliberations and scheduling; the board president called for adjournment at 11:16 p.m.