The Yellow Medicine East School District has selected who they want as their new school superintendent and it is Blue Earth Area High School principal Rich Schneider.

Schneider was one of 12 applicants for the position and then became one of four finalists.

After a first round of interviews, the YME School Board narrowed the finalists down from four to three and Schneider was one of the three.

The three were interviewed by the School Board for a second time this past Monday, June 18, at the board meeting room in Granite Falls.

On Wednesday morning the board had made their decision and offered the position to Schneider and he accepted.

When contacted by the Faribault County Register, Schneider said the contract with YME still has to be worked out but he and the board have agreed to it in principal.

“If the board approves the contract on Monday night, and I expect they will, then I will be submitting my resignation here effective the end of June,” Schneider said. “And I will start there on July 1st.”

Schneider said it is advancement in his career he has been looking for, but it comes with a cost.

“I have really enjoyed my time here,” Schneider, who has been at BEA for six years, said. “But I think YME will be a good fit for me. I only applied to where I thought would be right for me and my career path. I did not throw my hat into every ring, and I was certainly not running from anything.”

Yellow Medicine East is just a bit smaller than Blue Earth Area Schneider notes, but he said it is very similar.

BEA Superintendent Evan Gough said as soon as the BEA board receives Schneider’s official resignation they will immediately begin the search for a new high school principal.

Schneider says he has agreed to be as helpful to his successor as possible.

“I will be leaving a piece of my heart here, so I want to help as much as I can,” Schneider said. “This is a great community and school.”