State board overseeing teacher licensure reopens its executive-director search

Feb 12, 2018

MinnPost, Erin Hinrichs

The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board — the new state board overseeing teacher licensure, commonly known as PELSB — had narrowed down the search for its first permanent executive director to three finalists: Kevin Dahle, a veteran teacher and former state senator from Northfield; Paula Foley, a veteran educator and school administrator from St. Cloud; and Anne Soto, chief operating officer of Educate78, an education nonprofit based in Oakland, California.

All three finalists fielded interview questions from the public on Thursday and from board members on Friday. As board members took some time to deliberate after all three candidates had left Friday afternoon, however, things took an unexpected turn: They decided to reopen the search.