The Nebraska State Board of Education has named Norm Ridder a finalist for its commissioner of education post.
Ridder has served as the Springfield Public Schools superintendent since 2005, and in August, he informed the school board he would end his tenure with the district at the end of the 2013-14 academic year on June 30, 2014. His base salary for the year is $160,926, according to
Springfield Business Journal archives.
Ridder, a Nebraska native, faces opposition from three other finalists: Matthew Blomstedt, executive director of the Nebraska Educational Service Unit Coordinating Council; Virginia Moon, who most recently served as interim superintendent of Omaha Public Schools; and Michael Sentance, who was most recently president of educational reform strategies for Tribal Group USA.
The finalists are scheduled to be interviewed Dec. 11, with a winner named that day or the next. The job became open after Nebraska Commissioner of Education Roger Breed retired July 1, according to a news release.
In his application for the job, posted at
Education.Ne.gov, Ridder boasted a continually improving school district in Springfield; his work with key stakeholders; dialogue with state and federal officials; and his more than 30 years of work with elected school boards.
"My strength is the ability to develop a strategic focus rooted in collaboration, communication and critical thinking," Ridder said in the application. "I will work with the people of Nebraska to develop a living design to best education its people."
Ridder had applied for a similar position in Wyoming earlier this year, but ultimately was not selected for the job. Ridder was one of three finalists this summer for director of the Wyoming Department of Education, chosen out of 84 applicants and six semifinalists. Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead selected Richard Crandall, CEO and chief financial officer for CN Resources and Crandall Corporate Dietitians in Mesa, Ariz., as well as an Arizona state senator, according to
SBJ archives.
In Springfield, the board of education is analyzing results from an open poll issued to collect input from the community on the district's next superintendent. The deadline for applications for the job is Jan. 15, according to a separate release.[[In-content Ad]]
