Man Arrested in Crash Killing Royalton Superintendent

Superintendent John. P. Franzoia of the Royalton Public Schools has died in a vehicle crash. The driver of the other vehicle was taken into custody of suspicion of drunk driving and is being held at the Stearns County Jail.

Principal of the Royalton Elementary School, Phil Gurbada, says the 62-year-old died Saturday following a crash Friday.

"We come from families, we have children, and we all make routine trips, and you think of yourself sitting at a stop light and being innocent and someone's irresponsible behavior causes that, it hurts a lot."

The State Patrol says Franzoia was driving Friday about 6:15 p.m. when he was rear-ended by 49-year-old Dale Allan Matthies near the intersection of Hwy. 15 and Stearns Cty Road 1.

Sunday, Matthies remains in the Stearns County Jail, being held for criminal vehicular operation.

Remembering the educator

Franzoia worked at Royalton for more than 23 years. He was superintendent for about 18 years and high school principal for six.

Longtime friend and high school principal Phil Gurbada says the community and school body are in shock.

"Not having John here, we're all going to be scrambling, how are we going to proceed now. And it's not likely we're going to find someone with that dedication."

Former Royalton student Jason Keske says, "He's been here so long, he became part of the community. Everybody is going to miss him."

A memorial service will be held at the high school on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 3:00 p.m.

The district has about 675 students. Royalton is about 30 miles north of St. Cloud.