The Daily News

After fully assuming leadership of the Breckenridge School District on July 1, Superintendent Rick Bleichner has been a busy man.

"It's kind of nice to be in the district full time," said Bleichner, who worked part-time from mid-April to July. "And I've heard nothing but positive things right now taking place. People are excited to get back to school, and it's going to be good."

As a strong believer of student leadership activities, he'd like to try placing two students on the school board this fall. Although they wouldn't get to vote, a spot would be open for them to talk and bring student news to the table, said Bleichner.

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He's also interested in starting a junior entrepreneurship program, which has students start their own businesses inside the classrooms. They learn marketing and sales techniques, as well as the hierarchy of company leadership.

"It's a neat opportunity for kids to start a business, raise some money, and use the money for different projects in their classrooms," he said. "Some businesses fail, some succeed, so it's a great opportunity for our kids."

Other senior leadership opportunities this year may include involvement in service organizations such as United Way, an idea he picked up from his days as a superintendent at Evansville, Minn., and other districts.

"I'm a firm believer that leaders are not born, but they're made," he said.

Bleichner would also like to bring back science fairs and even an inventor's fair, where elementary students could invent and market their new ideas.

"It gets the creativity juices flowing in students, and that's what it's all about," he said.

His most pressing concern, however, is getting staffing in place for the upcoming year. The district recently hired Karinda Rolando, a graduate of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., for its elementary music and band instructor, but Bleichner is still working to fill a home economics position. Only a few have applied for the job, and they may use a variance on a teacher's license, he said.

The district is also working to acquire 15,759 square feet of the city's property to expand the ninth grade football practice field, which in turn will expand the softball field.

"We're looking at some easement exchanges," he said. "They (the city) need to have some easements to be able to run underneath some of the school property and then we're looking at acquiring the piece of land in exchange of that."

The city of Breckenridge received the legal description of the acquisition Wednesday, but the attorney has to review it before forwarding the information back to the school, according to city offices.

Administrative transparency has always been on his agenda. He wants to take a "positive, upwards stroke" with leadership in the future, and said it's time to shine and showcase what's really working in the community.

"If Breckenridge is a good district right now, we'll be moving into a great district. If it is a great district, we're going to make it better," he said.

Communication is important to Bleichner, who said he keeps an open door policy and is willing to listen to the community. He's asked school employees to be "ambassadors of the district" and to let people know what's happening, which would effectively stop any rumors from going on.

"I'm not one to keep things secret," he said. "Rumors will wreck a lot of people and a lot of districts. There's really no need for them... we're going to do things the right way here."

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