Board says Superintendent Hillman is on track after midyear evaluation

Board leadership presented a midyear evaluation summary of Superintendent Matt Hillman’s performance, using a new check‑in format focused on five priority areas for the 2025–26 academic year.

Chair read a summary prepared with board chair Claudia Gonzalez George and executive assistant Kelly Spillman Kramer that consolidated individual board comments and removed identifying details. The five focus areas highlighted in the summary are: developing a school‑to‑work program for general education high school students; addressing system changes and staff workload resulting from prior budget reductions; launching an AI academy for staff in 2026; researching reasons families open‑enroll into or leave the district in partnership with St. Olaf College; and improving BIPOC student experiences through co‑facilitated groups.

Board members praised progress in those areas and asked for continued implementation detail and resources. Board member Amy asked whether Superintendent Hillman found the new midyear approach useful; Hillman said he appreciated the depth and specificity of feedback, called it more actionable than prior broader reviews and said the district will work to act on comments in coming weeks. Several board members thanked the committee that revised the evaluation format and said they found it useful for focused feedback.

Provenance: midyear evaluation presentation and board Q&A (topic intro: SEG 1456; topic finish: SEG 1628).