Owatonna adds communication specialist to its school roster

Lori Buegler is stepping into a world filled with frequent regulation changes, raucous school board meetings and frustrated parents – and she’s excited.
In her second week as the new part-time communications specialist for Owatonna Public schools, Buegler used the word multiple times while talking about everything from the challenges to the opportunities her new job presents.
“I’m looking forward to telling the stories of all the great things that are happening in our district,” she said, “stories about all the great staff and students.”
The Owatonna School District has had a communications specialist as recently as 2019, but the job fell victim to budget cuts.
Buegler took the half-time position after spending 17 years as the executive director of communications for Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Maple Grove, working from home after the family moved to Owatonna in 2014.
“I tell people I was working remotely before working remotely was cool,” she said.
Buegler is familiar with the school district; her two sons, Nathan and Sam, are both OHS graduates. Her husband, Todd Buegler, is the senior pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Owatonna.
“As a parent, I’ve seen the dedication of the staff, the passion and vision that lead the district,” she said, though she knows not everyone feels that way.
“I think sometimes, when we only think of the big picture, we might think the district isn’t doing enough,” Buegler said, “but when you can focus on specifics, you see more. You see the hearts of the people who are here and doing things for the district.”
One of her challenges: prioritizing the things that happen, and keeping the focus on the positive aspects.
“Social media is out there for everybody to see,” Buegler said, “so we want to put positive things out there. Facts are our friends.”
It’s important, she said, “to get out actual information, with whatever it may be. We want to respond; we want to be there and show (the public) we care.”
That includes using the district’s monthly newsletter.
Should concerns come her way, “I’ll always pass the information along to the appropriate people.”
Buegler said her role is “very relational. That’s how I’ll find out about my stories and the great people behind them.”
New job or not, she doesn’t expect her life to change much: “I’m still just a community member who also happens to go to a lot of events.”
Now, though, she said she’ll tell everyone else about it.