"He'll be a huge loss to our community," said Deb Mauch, school board president. "When people see him in the community they immediately connect him with the school, he's so representative of the school."
The board held its first of five sessions Monday to start the intense interviewing process candidates to replace Connell. Mauch said this is the first undertaking of such a scale during her 17-year tenure.
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Before accepting the position in 2004, Donohue Stetz had served as that school’s principal since 2000.
Throughout the interview, Donohue Stetz affirmed she has no ambitions to impose any changes on the current system, praising it and its diligent members as a "well-oiled machine."
"You don't come in and change a bunch of things if it's working well," said Stetz.
Instead, she said her priority would be familiarizing herself with the system, asking, "How can we take what's working well and move it to another greater level?"
She also served as the principal of St. Mary’s School in Breckenridge, where she has lived for 17 years.
Donohue Stetz has a master's degree in school administration, an educational leadership specialist degree and a doctorate of philosophy in institutional analysis.
Donohue Stetz said her experiences in Minnesota have been "really neat," having had the opportunity to impact the lives of so many kids. What she wants now is to "have an impact on even more kids," referring to the 1,214 youths comprising the Wahpeton student body.
Donohue Stetz presented herself as an approachable administrator, one constantly involved with her students, making their education her overriding concern.
"Bottom line is what's best for kids," she said. "Academics is what comes first."
Donohue Stetz made clear her efforts extended beyond all things education to more administrational affairs, arguably the bulwark of her position. She said, in regard to conferring with board members on faculty about more problematic issues that arise, she would be inclusive and not selective, receptive to suggestions, fair in her delegation and attentive to the opinions and needs of others.
In providing an example of how she has balanced delicate financial and revenue systems, particularly when presented with waning state funds, Donohue Stetz detailed her fundraising efforts. She said she organized volunteers from the community, all equally concerned with “bringing opportunity to the backyard.”
They helped generate funds in support of elective programs such as arts, music and language, which she views as essential to children’s growth.
Last, she elaborated the problems of declining enrollment and engaging today's "entertainment-minded," "tech-savvy" youth, all problems easily overcome with persistence.
The board will to hold interviews each night this week at 7 p.m. in the district office, and will deliberate on Monday, Feb. 8 .
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