The Crookston School District’s interim Superintendent will be Randy Bruer. The District and Bruer agreed to a contract for one year that will start on Monday, July 21, and run through the end of June 2026. The Crookston School Board will have a special meeting on Wednesday, July 23 at 12:30 p.m. to approve the contract.
The two finalists were Bruer and Doug Van Zyl, previously the Lakeville School District Superintendent. Both candidates were interviewed on Monday and Bruer was offered the job. He approved and signed the contract on Tuesday. Bruer’s contract will be $175,000 with benefits included in the total.
Crookston School Board Chairman Tim Dufault says the interviews went very well, and they had two very strong candidates to choose from. “We brought in two candidates that we had selected last Monday, both great candidates. Well, we wouldn’t have brought them in if they weren’t going to be a good fit for the school district,” says Dufault. “One shown brighter than the other. Been in contact with that one and we’re going to get together and discuss this position in detail a little more tomorrow.”
Bruer started his career teaching and coaching in Ortonville for 10 years. He was a principal and teacher in Bellingham, Minnesota, for a year before becoming the Principal at Fisher. He became superintendent at Fisher before taking the same job at Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton for three years. Bruer was Superintendent at Win-E-Mac for 13 years before retiring in 2024. After a year off, he said he was ready to help Crookston out as he still had some gas in the tank.
KROX’s Chris Fee sat down and talked with Bruer, and the interview is below.