As the director of communications for Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools, Kristi Mussman has spent over two decades leading the district’s public relations and stakeholder engagement efforts. Her vital role enabled residents, families and staff to stay informed on everything from new school construction, boundary changes and future strategic plans.
On July 10, she will leave her position as communications leader for the district. In the future, she will serve the Hopkins School District as its director of communications and marketing. While she is excited for her new role and challenges, she will miss telling the stories of local students and colleagues.
Mussman has seen many changes during her tenure serving as the district’s communications leader. The student population has grown by more than 2,000 since her role started, new schools have been built, others have been renamed and repurposed to meet changing needs. She has worked with and for four superintendents — Tom Westerhaus, Sue Ann Gruver, Teri Staloch and Michael Thomas, all of whom presented a different leadership style in serving local schools which allowed her to learn from varying perspectives.
“School district communication has changed dramatically over the past 20 years,” Mussman said. “When I started in 2005, the role was primarily about sharing information through traditional media and district publications. Today, it’s a true 24/7 leadership role.”
One of the biggest changes to the local media landscape came when the Prior Lake American and Savage Pacer ceased publishing in 2024, according to Mussman. As those news outlets disappeared, the district had to take on much more of the responsibility for telling their own stories.
“While we continue to work with the Prior Lake News Compass, we’ve also become our own newsroom,” Mussman said, “and use our website, social media, videos, email and mass-notification systems to communicate directly with families, staff and the community.”
Mussman believes that social media has completely changed the communications profession. In the early years of her career, platforms such as Facebook were just being introduced to potential users. Today, she said, social media is one of the primary communications tools, but it also means information and misinformation can be spread within minutes. During crisis situations, response times are measured in minutes, not hours, she said, which is challenging for those who are expected to push information out quickly and ensure it is accurate.
“Perhaps the biggest shift is that communication is no longer one-way,” Mussman said. “Today, it’s a conversation. We spend a great deal of time listening to our community, responding to questions, monitoring concerns and correcting information so families have reliable, timely information they can trust.”
Mussman said working side-by-side with other district staff members was the best part of the past two decades. She has loved telling the stories about the district, its personnel and students. She said she’s always felt it was privilege to shine a light on the everyday academic successes, acts of kindness and moments of growth that occurred in the past. Liz Zimmerman, who has been part of the district’s communication team for nearly five years, has been hired to fill the role as its director.
“Those stories reminded me every day of the tremendous value of public education and the positive impact it has on students, families and the entire community,” Mussman said. “It’s been an honor to help tell PLSAS’ story for more than two decades.
“While I’m excited for my next chapter, this district will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will miss it very much.”
