BYRON, Minn. — After more than four hours of debate, the Byron School Board on Tuesday offered the role of superintendent to former Century High School Principal Nate Walbruch.

The decision was split by a 4-3 vote, with David Wernimont, Jeremy Aagard, Kelli Crary and Carrie Delaney supporting the motion, and Lisa Jessen, Nadia Poluhina, and Alishia Eiken opposing it. According to Board Chair Aagard, who called Walbruch after the meeting, he will give the district his decision by Thursday, April 3.

Throughout their deliberations, the board members considered two primary questions:1) whether Walbruch would be the right fit for the school district and 2) whether they should give another interview to Byron Elementary Principal Abe Rodemeyer following backlash from the community when the board decided to eliminate him from the running.

In the process of coming to a consensus on how to move forward, they debated nearly every possible solution: Offering Walbruch a contract, opening the position up to more candidates, inviting Rodemeyer back for another interview, delaying the decision altogether, and even selecting an interim superintendent to do another deep dive for a new leader.

Overshadowing the conversation was the fear that a misstep could prevent candidates from wanting to accept the position, leaving the district in an even worse position than when they started.

“As a board, our reputation’s on the line,” Eiken said.

Originally the board was supposed to do a final round of interviews with three finalists on Tuesday. However, two of those candidates dropped out, leaving Walbruch as the sole finalist. Prior to debating whether to offer him the position, the board conducted a final interview with Walbruch, pushing the overall meeting beyond six hours.

Those opposed to hiring Walbruch had different reasons for doing so. Eiken said she believed he was a competent candidate but that she didn’t think he would be a good fit for the district. Poluhina said she didn’t think Walbruch had outlined a strong vision for the district beyond his plans to help pass a referendum.

She also worried about whether he would stay with the district very long based on his previous positions. Walbruch has been the superintendent of Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Public Schools since 2023. From the 2021-23 he was the principal of Century High School in Rochester. From 2016-2021, he was the principal of Plainview-Elgin-Millville High School.

Other board members essentially took the opposite viewpoint, commending the strategy Walbruch outlined for the district as well as his leadership style.

In response to the question about whether Walbruch would intend to stay with the district long-term, Wernimont said it was secondary to the more immediate issues the community needs to consider.

“The district needs to mend and heal,” Wernimont said. “The district doesn’t need a 10-year plan.”

There were two separate motions to offer Walbruch the position, with roughly 20 minutes between the efforts. The first time, the motion failed for lack of receiving a second. The second time, which was what the board ultimately approved, the board amended the motion to specify that they would open the application window back up if Walbruch declines.

The only difference between the two attempts was that by specifying that they’ll open the application window back up, they would save time in relaunching the search.

In the end, the board was unable to avoid the reality of offering the position to a candidate with a fractured consensus.

Crary, in particular, stressed the possibility that if they return to the drawing board after not selecting any of the original 14 applicants, they could be left with substandar prospects. What if the worst applicant they received this time is the best caliber of candidate the district is able to attract next time, she asked.

Meanwhile, she also repeatedly stressed her stance that Walbruch was the right selection for the job.

“I think he is a leader that we need in Byron,” Crary said.

In addition to the two votes the board conducted on Walbruch, there was a third motion the board voted on that would have invited the previously dismissed candidate, Abe Rodemeyer, back for another interview. That motion failed with a 4-3 vote, with Jessen, Poluhina, and Eiken supporting the motion and Wernimont, Aagard, Crary, and Delaney opposing it.

Leading up to that failed vote regarding the possibility of speaking with Rodemeyer again, the board spent a considerable amount of time relitigating whether they made the right decision to remove him from their selection of finalists.

Part of that double-guessing was in response to a backlash from the community, a contingent of which was avidly in favor of Rodemeyer's candidacy. In fact, some constituents went so far as to link the board’s willingness to select Rodemeyer with the success or failure of the next referendum.

“There were multiple (emails) that specifically said ‘if he is not the superintendent, this referendum will fail,’” Aagard said. “That is an unrealistic and inappropriate situation to put the board in.”

Despite any concerns about the viability of another referendum, Jessen said the board owes it to the community to bring Rodemeyer back for another interview.

“He’s got longevity here; he’s got leadership here. He’s just full of integrity,” Jessen said. “He’s everything we’re looking for in a leader, and he’s what our community needs right now. He’s what our community is telling us they want right now.”

The reason the board eliminated Rodemeyer from the running was because of his lack of experience as a superintendent.

But even the significance of that came into question. Prior to establishing a pool of candidates, the district hosted a survey to gauge the community’s priorities in a new leader.

One of the questions asked respondents if previous superintendent experience is important. According to the response, 63.68% of the respondents said “Yes,” and 36.32% said “No.” For the demographic of respondents who identified as staff, 80.85% said previous experience was important. For the demographic of parent and guardian respondents, 56.88 said previous experience was important.

However, in a town of more than 6,000 residents, the survey only had 237 respondents.

Meanwhile, an online survey began circulating on social media, calling for the board to reconsider Rodemeyer. As of Tuesday night, the petition had more than 600 signatures.

“The selection of a superintendent who has deep-rooted connections and loyalty to our community would greatly enhance our children's learning environment and bring back the trust and engagement that seem to have eroded over time,” the petition reads in part. “It's a crucial step towards rebuilding our community and nurturing the educational excellence that has become synonymous with Byron Public Schools.”

Both the survey and the petition became part of the conversation at the board table, and multiple board members criticized both. Crary questioned the credibility of the number of signatures, saying it would not be difficult for someone to create multiple accounts to sign the petition multiple times.

Eiken, on the other hand, challenged the survey that the district itself conducted.

"I will die on this hill that we did not adequately account for the flaws and limitations in that survey," Eiken said.