A former Niles Community Schools employee returned Wednesday as one of six finalists vying for a job as the district’s superintendent.

Daniel Applegate worked four years as the Niles district’s director of instruction and special education before leaving in 2013 to become the assessment and accreditation coordinator at nearby Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Applegate told the school board at Wednesday’s public interview that he wasn’t actively looking for another job when St. Mary’s approached him with an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.

Since then, Applegate said he has noticed that Niles has been hurting. He became emotional when he said he wants to come back and help the district “heal.”

“I am stronger in the areas I thought I was good at, I believe I am very good at building relationships and I think that is something that Niles needs now,” he said. “There are a lot of things in Niles that are here and ready to be pushed to the next level. I have the skills and the knowledge to do those things.”

Board President Jeff O’Toole asked if Applegate would be able to make decisions that could affect people he once worked with as peers.

Applegate said he did that while working as the director of special education.

“There were times that I had to say, ‘We are going to do things different.’ There was some resistance, but you have to work through that,” Applegate said.

“What I believe I did well was I listened… I wasn’t afraid to hash it out, I wasn’t afraid to say, ‘Let your voices get loud, but let me hear it.’ That is one way to build trust.”

Applegate said he believes the instructional capacity of teachers is the single most important factor contributing to the successful education of children.

He assured the board he would not leave if offered the job.

“I intend to be here until people run me out,” he said. “Nothing about Niles was pushing me away, it was St. Mary’s was drawing me. It’s the same thing that is drawing me here. I would plan to be here for the long run.”