By Jolene Farley
Superintendent Tom Knoll has verbally accepted a new position at Hayfield Community School, according to Hayfield School Board President Steve Boysen.
Hayfield, located about 25 miles southwest of Rochester, has 1,005 kindergarten through 12 students.
Comparatively, the Hills-Beaver Creek school district has approximately 308 students and Luverne district has approximately 1,326 students. The Hayfield district includes five towns that consolidated into one district in the 1960s.
The Hayfield School Board met Tuesday evening to ratify Knoll's $80,000 three-year contract scheduled to begin July 1 of this year.
The superintendent position had 29 applicants, which the School Board interviewed extensively, according to Boysen.
"Tom was No. 1 all the way through," said Boysen. "We are very excited." He praised Knoll's understanding of Minnesota finance and public relations.
"We did an extensive background check," Boysen stated.
Superintendent Knoll was unavailable for comment.