Three people involved in the educational field have been selected as finalists for the position of executive director of the National Joint Powers Alliance of Staples. They were chosen from a field of nine semi-finalists.

The three were selected from a group of nine semi-finalists for the position. The three finalists are:

o Todd Lyscio, director of Community Education at Brainerd School District and a former high school principal at Staples Motley.

o Paul Brownlow, superintendent at Verndale Public Schools.

o Mark Schmitz, superintendent at Staples Motley and acting interim director of NJPA.

The three finalists will be interviewed again on June 28 by the full board of the NJPA.

There were six other applicants who were interviewed. Those included:

o Malinda Jezierski of Deerwood, elementary principal at Crosby.

o Dr. Barry Lane, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota State College and Technical School.

o Dennis Morrow, Plymouth, REACH Global director, a program of the Evangelical Free churches of America.

o Jamie Skjevland, Crosby, superintendent of Crosby-Ironton school district.

o Curt Tryggestad, Little Falls, superintendent of the Little Falls Community Schools.

o Wanda Sommers Wall, Belle Prairie, director of education for South Central Service Cooperative.

A panel of NJPA board members and three staff members conducted the interviews of the nine semifinalists.

Mark Schmitz is currently serving as the interim director of NJPA following the departure of Gary Nytes, former director, this past March.

Schmitz has not been involved in the interviewing process.