ELK RAPIDS -- School board members in Elk Rapids focused their search for a new superintendent on a school chief from a local district.
Steve Prissel, superintendent of Buckley Community Schools, is in contract negotiations with Elk Rapids' board to lead the Antrim County district.
Prissel emerged as front-runner from a field that included candidates from downstate and the Upper Peninsula after a series of interviews and a site visit, Elk Rapids school board member Ed Bailey said.
Board members narrowed the hopefuls' list after a first round of interviews to three, including superintendents from Rudyard and Potterville.
"I'm really looking forward to the opportunity," Prissel said. "There's extreme pride for not only their school but their community, and of course that was attractive to me. Their motto is excellence."
Negotiations are underway on contract terms, and it's possible the process could wrap within two weeks, interim Superintendent Mike McIntyre said.
A tentative start date is set for Jan. 1. The board could call a special session in advance of its Nov. 23 meeting to finalize a contract.
The personnel committee has not yet decided on a base salary, McIntyre said, adding that its members will compare contracts from similarly sized districts in the region.
Buckley staff members noted during a site visit that Prissel is good at teamwork and doesn't micromanage his employees, Bailey said.
He added that Prissel appears to have "the personality fit for the district."
"They all liked the way Steve worked," he said. "They would close their comments with, almost in this order, 'We don't want you to take him, but you'd be crazy not to.'"
Prissel said his transition will be aided by the fact that he is not leaving the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District.
In Elk Rapids, he will help lead a pilot International Baccalaureate curriculum.
He said he intends to relocate and will assist Buckley's board as it searches for his replacement.
Given state funding challenges and more stringent graduation requirements, "I would say I'm very much a collaborative decision-maker," Prissel said. "I like to involve all members in whatever issue it is."
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