Owatonna Down to Two Superintendent Candidates

The Owatonna School Board has named two finalists in the decision to replace the soon to retired superintendent of Owatonna schools, Peter Grant.

The finalists are Jeff Elstad, superintendent of Byron schools. He has also held positions as principal, assistant principal, director of special services and speech/language pathologist. Elstad also has school experience in Rochester, Owatonna, New Prague and Benson.

The other finalist is Jeremiah Olson, superintendent of Henning/Underwood. Olson has held positions that include elementary principal, high school principal, middle school principal and teacher. He has previously worked in the Pingree-Buchanan, N.D.; Timber Lake, S.D.; and Fort Totten, N.D., school districts.

Each of the finalists will spend an entire day at the district, meeting with staff groups, touring the city and having an informal Q and A with parents and community members. Olson's final interview will be December 5 and Elstad's final interview will be December 6.

Parents and community members can take part in the Q and A each day in the OHS Small Group Forum. Plans are for the School Board to name a new superintendent before Christmas. Grant will continue in his present position as superintendent until his retirement in June 2017.