Forest Lake board sets Dec. 3 interviews, Dec. 4 appointment to fill vacancy; names next-highest vote getter as preferrred finalist

The Forest Lake Public School District board on Thursday adopted a resolution setting a two-step process to fill the board seat vacated by a 2025 resignation, scheduling candidate interviews for Dec. 3 and a final appointment vote at the Dec. 4 board meeting.

Chair (unnamed) read a list of 11 applicants and said the application period had closed. The board identified Laura Duragu as the "highest unelected vote getter" in the 2024 election and designated her the preferred voters’‑choice finalist under the board’s previously discussed criteria. The resolution directs administration to schedule Dec. 3 interviews, beginning at 5:05 p.m., and directs each board member to ask up to three questions within a 20‑minute interview block.

Under the resolution the board will split into two open subcommittees immediately after the interviews to select up to two finalists each (in addition to Duragu). The full board will reconvene and the committee recommendations will be considered at the Dec. 4 meeting, when the board will adopt a resolution naming the appointee.

The board specified interview logistics in the resolution: a 20‑minute hard stop per candidate, three minutes of questioning time per board member, and a requirement that the first question asked by each member originate from a list provided earlier by Member Tyson. The resolution also states that all portions of the Dec. 3 meeting consisting of the full board will be recorded and streamed; committee deliberations, which occur after the interviews, will be held in open sessions but are not required to be streamed.

Members debated the number of finalists subcommittees should return and whether to provide questions to candidates in advance. Chair said administration (staff member Joy) would contact applicants to set the exact interview schedule, and emphasized that an inability to attend the Dec. 3 panel would not disqualify an applicant from consideration.

Board members discussed fairness and timing: one member noted concern that candidates later in the schedule could have an advantage, while others emphasized the value of standard questions to permit direct comparison. The board settled on two standardized questions drawn from Tyson’s list plus one member‑specific question, and appointed two subcommittees to make finalist recommendations.

The resolution passed on a roll call vote recorded by the clerk; the board then adjourned. The scheduling and selection plan will next be carried out by administration and the two subcommittees during the Dec. 3 interviews and the Dec. 4 appointment meeting.