by Dennis Dalman
Dr. Michael Rivard, a Sartell resident for the past 20 years, has been chosen as the new superintendent for the Sartell-St. Stephen School District.
After a lengthy, thorough vetting process and extensive input from school-district stakeholders, the school board voted unanimously to hire Rivard at a school-board meeting last month. He is expected to start the job this July.
He was one of three semi-finalists for the position, the others being Timothy Rohweder, a high-school principal from the Proctor Public School District, and Kurt Stumpf, superintendent of Pequot Lakes Public Schools. All of them underwent rounds of interviews conducted at meetings opened to the public by the school board.
Rivard has been employed by the St. Cloud School District in a variety of roles since 1995, starting as a school/clinical social worker. He has served as assistant principal, as a principal at Oak Hill Community School, as assistant superintendent of elementary education and then as assistant superintendent of education services E-12. He oversees five departments in the district and supervises all E-12 buildings.
The search process for a new superintendent in Sartell began many months ago when then-superintendent Dr. Jeff Ridlehoover accepted a job as superintendent for Rockwood Public School District. Tom Lee, a retired superintendent, was then hired as interim superintendent for the Sartell district in June 2023.
School Board Chair Tricia Meling had this to say after Rivard was chosen:
“The school board was impressed with Dr. Rivard’s experience and his strong connection with our community . . . We appreciate everyone who attended the interviews and our stakeholders who helped us make this important decision.”
Michael and Tammy Rivard have two children – John, who graduated from Sartell High School in 2001; and Hannah, who will graduate from Sartell High School in 2024. Both have been educated in Sartell schools from kindergarten onward. Tammy has taught elementary school in the St. Cloud School District for 28 years.
