Minot Public School superintendent finalists announced

Board discusses interviews to be held Dec. 11-13

The Minot Public School Board has announced the four superintendent finalists who have been selected for interviews.

The board held a special meeting Thursday, which included a lengthy executive session wherein the board discussed and selected the finalists: Scott Faul, Mark Helm, Renae Rudolph and Luke Schaefer. Current superintendent, Mark Vollmer, had previously announced his intention to retire in 2024.

Candidates will be asked to provide presentations on how they will engage with students and families to improve student attendance and achievement. The board accepted changes to interview questions discussed in the executive session, as well as other questions proposed in focus groups.

Interviews will be conducted by the five board members and could include a representative from the Minot Air Force Base if the base chooses to have someone attend. The interviews will occur during special board meetings at the Skills Center of the Minot Workforce Academy, with a dinner with the candidate at 5:15 p.m. and the interview following at 6 p.m.

The interviews will be public and will be viewable on the board's livestream. The interviews have been scheduled with Helm on Dec. 11, Rudolph on Dec. 12, Faul on Dec. 13 and Schaefer on Dec. 14. The board will consider offering the position to one of the finalists on Dec. 14, following the final interview.

Helm is a retired assistant superintendent from Wenatchee, Washington, who spent 24 years employed by Wenatchee Public Schools as a teacher, coach and administrator. Helm is a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University and also holds a master's degree in secondary school administration from Central Washington University, as well as superintendent credentials from Washington State University. Helm has been retired since 2021.

The three other candidates live and work in Minot. Rudolph is a Minot native, and a graduate of Minot High School and Minot State University, where she graduated with degrees in mathematics and physical science education. Rudolph was an NAIA All-American student athlete at MSU as a gymnast, winning national championships in the vault in 1985 and 1988. In 2007, Rudolph moved back to Minot, where she worked at Magic City Campus as a math teacher and has been the principal at Perkett Elementary School since 2016.

Faul is a graduate of the University of North Dakota, where he acquired a bachelor's degree in physical education, a master's degree in special education and a doctorate in educational leadership. Faul has lived and worked in Minot as a high school principal since 2011, and in May took on the role of assistant superintendent for the MPS district's middle schools.

Schaefer is a former music educator who worked in Des Lacs-Burlington, and he served briefly as superintendent for Sawyer Public School. In the years since, Schaefer has been the executive officer for the Mid-Dakota Education Association and Missouri River Education Association and chief executive officer for the Central Regional Education Association after the two entities merged.