RAUTIOLA

LAKE LINDEN – The Lake Linden-Hubbell School Board is continuing its search for an interim superintendent as the search for a permanent superintendent continues.

At the Regular monthly Board meeting Monday, Board President Patricia Burton announced three possible candidates who had expressed interest in the role of interim superintendent. In moving forward, the Superintendent Search Committee scheduled a special meeting for 4 p.m. Tuesday, with a special meeting of the School Board scheduled for 5:30 Nov. 17.

Copper Country Intermediate School District Superintendent James Rautiola, who is acting as temporary interim superintendent at Lake Linden, said typically in instances like this, the committee meeting is to create a list of questions each candidate will be asked before the Nov. 17 meeting.

“The questions will be submitted to the candidates,” Rautiola said, “and the candidates have to submit the answers back to the Search Committee prior to Monday’s meeting.”

The candidates will then be discussed at that meeting, he said, and hopefully, one will be selected to fill the position.

Currently, the School Board has a contract for superintendent services with the Copper Country Intermediate School District, with CCISD Superintendent Jim Rautiola filling that position through December 8, 2025.

If the School Board is able to select an interim superintendent before that date, said Rautiola, the ISD will remove itself from the school district. “The deal would be, if they find somebody,” he said, “then they find somebody, and we step out.” Rautiola said it is his hope that the Board will name someone from the candidate list at Monday’s meeting.

The School Board is following the usual search process in an unusual situation, said Rautiola. Retired superintendent Craig Sundblad had been serving as interim superintendent since June 27, after Former Superintendent and Middle/High School Principal Brad Codere announced his retirement effective Jun 30. A months-long search ended when a candidate was hired, only to withdraw in mid-October, before assuming the position. Sundblad’s term expired on Oct. 31, before the Board was able to find another person to fill the interim position. “Essentially, they ended up going back to square one,” Rautiola said.

The Board had a good plan in place, he said, with Sundblad willing to serve through the hiring process, but he had other obligations and could not continue into November. In order to continue operating within state law, the Board requested temporary services from the CCISD.

“We’re the interim to the interim right now,” Rautiola said. “As the service agency, that’s our role, and they will hopefully appoint someone soon.” The intention, he said, is to have an interim person in place while the search for a permanent superintendent continues, which is typical in the search process. The L.L. School Board is in a tight situation, because typically searches begin in January or February, with interviews occurring in the spring in order to have somebody in place in mid-summer. Being compelled to begin a search in November is challenging, because candidates looking for superintendent positions usually do not begin searching before January or February.

“Typically, school contracts go from July 1st to June 30th,” Rautiola said.