DOWAGIAC — The superintendent search trailed on as the final three candidates answered questions from the Dowagiac Union Schools Board of Education on Wednesday evening in the Administration Building.

Candidates concluding the first round of interviews included Greg Blomgren, the high school principal at St. Joseph Public Schools, Kelly Millin, the high school principal at Dowagiac Union High School, and Johnathon Whan, the superintendent at Grant Public Schools.

Greg Blomgren, the first interview candidate, has over 21 years in education and expressed how coming back to Dowagiac was full circle, since Blomgren spent seven years teaching and coaching at Dowagiac Union Schools before his St. Joseph days. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Grandville, a teaching degree from the University of Wisconsin- Parkside.

A familiar face sat down in front of the board of education for the next interview. Kelly Millin, the current high school principal at Dowagiac Union High School for the past five years, has 25 years of educational experience. Millin received a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University and joined the district as a Spanish instructor in 1994.

Lastly, Johnathon Whan is a second-generation superintendent and fifth-generation educator. He has been a superintendent at Grant Public Schools for seven years and respectfully agreed with the board when they decided a transition plan would be developed for Whan to find another superintendent role. He has held positions as a teacher, athletic director, principal, assistant superintendent and graduated with a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in secondary administration from Central Michigan University. He also earned his specialist degree in central office administration from Saginaw Valley State University.

With enrollment rates affecting Dowagiac Union Schools, school board member Terry Groth asked candidates to outline their experience in managing the needs of a district experiencing a decline in enrollment while maintaining a focus on student learning.

“All of us, regardless of the school district you’re in back six or seven years ago, we had issues with the financial crisis not only in Michigan but throughout the country,” Blomgren said. “The state of Michigan came to us and said we are going to have to make the $470 per pupil.’ … We are just getting back to the proper per pupil funding. That one cut at that one particular time was extremely impactful. There were a lot of things that had to happen. We had to become more efficient. We had to look at programs, the classes and everything we were doing in the district and try to do so with little impact on the students in the classrooms. … As you move forward, you’ve got to make yourself attractive to the families and students in the district and in surrounding areas to attract new students. You need to market your school district and recruit the students to enter. Enrollment information is all out there, and it’s transparent. You need to be succeeding to attract students and build up the district. “

“As I said before, I am Dowagiac,” Millin said. “I recognize we have had declining enrollment in this district. It is a multi-faceted issue, and we need to work on it day-to-day. … You go right after it and address it by looking at the foundations of the school. Enrollment needs to be looked at on a day-to-day level, and we as a school, need to fight through it and get the message out there about our community and district.”

“Since 2008, enrollment across the nation has dropped. It is critical in this situation, you must be properly staffed, you must understand legacy costs in your contracts, and so that as things change, you are not having surprises come up. Everything must be tied together and looked at long term. If the district has developed a reputation of not providing for the students, that’s an issue, students are critical to the success of their school district. Cameron, my son, reads something and he remembers it. Nicole, my daughter, struggles, well she did. They had different needs, and we had to work with the school to figure it out.

Ron Jones asked candidates what empathy means to them and the role it would have in Dowagiac Union Schools.

“Empathy is having compassion, care and understanding those backgrounds,” Bolgrem said. “It’s critical to understand that every kid comes from a different home or different situation. They all need different resources, support and needs. I don’t think you can, as a school district, say you are a one-size-fits-all district. When I came through the education system, I came from a similar school with a background as Dowagiac. I grew up in a household with a single mom, but there were always people who showed care or interest in me and gave me the support I needed. It’s important we show that same support and caring for our students.”

“Empathy is putting yourself in someone’s place,” Millin said. “Empathy is when a teacher stays after school to help a student. … Empathy is sometimes having to make a hard call, but you do it anyway. Maybe people won’t have all the facts to support it, but you care for that child and want to see them succeed.”

“Empathy is being able to picture yourself in the shoes of somebody else,” Whan said. “The importance of education is supporting our students. But, also understanding empathy doesn’t mean letting something slide by because it’s our job is to go alongside someone and in some cases, pick up the child and or staff member or whatever the situation is to work with them and their family. It is caring, and it is love. I’m a firm believer that in these difficult situations, setting high expectations is not easy, but we need to build grit.”

Following each interview, candidates were given the opportunity to ask board members questions. Each candidate asked what the board was looking for in their new superintendent. The board outlined many similar needs to Tuesday night’s meeting, including enrollment, an open line of communication, finishing the bond issue and strong board and superintendent relationships. A new message was addressed by Groth, who suggested improving athletic excellence as well as academic excellence.

Board debated all six candidates

Immediately following the final three candidate interviews, the Dowagiac Union Schools Board of Education collected the public’s feedback surveys and discussed each of the three candidates at length.

With the guidance of Jay Bennet, the Michigan Association of School Boards assistant director of executive search services, the board then discussed all six of the candidates, addressing each of their strengths and weaknesses.

The board addressed whether Blomgren is interested in the newly available St. Joseph superintendent position.

“He said he is in this search because he wants to be the next superintendent of Dowagiac,” Bennet said. “I would say from high school principal to a district of that size is a big leap.”

Several public comment surveys questioned Whan’s departure from Grant Public Schools.

“There are groups of people that run for boards with certain things in mind. … If you are in the superintendence seat a number of years you do make some enemies. You don’t always make the right decisions in their eyes,” Trustee Ron Jones said. “When you get a get enough people on the board more than four who are new, that’s a very common thing to happen. Turnover at the superintendence level, if you’re there five or six years, that’s good. There’s nothing sinister about that.”

After discussing candidate’s comments and voting several times, the board unanimously decided to invite back the three candidates interviewed earlier that evening, Greg Blomgren, Kelly Millin and Johnathon Whan. Trustees were then given contact information to validate each candidate’s references.

The second round of superintendent candidate interviews will take place at 5:30 p.m. next Monday in the district administration building, 243 S. Front St, Dowagiac. Community members, district staff and interested parties are encouraged to attend the interviews, said district staff.