 |
By the time April rolls around, two Spokane Valley school districts are hoping the snow will be off the ground and a new superintendent will be in place.
In East Valley, the search will center around finding a permanent replacement for interim Superintendent Debra Howard who has not yet announced whether she will be part of the candidate pool. Central Valley will focus on securing a successor for the retiring Mike Pearson.
Both Central Valley and East Valley school districts dedicated January to gathering input from staff and the community on qualifications for each district’s top administrative post.
This month will be a matter of gathering applications in preparation for interviews in March. CVSD and EVSD hope to have an announcement on a superintendent by mid-April with the new leader taking over on July 1.
“This is the most important decision our school board will make,” said Judi Christiansen, a spokeswoman for East Valley.
On Nov. 26, Pearson indicated to the school board that he would be retiring on June 30, 2008. He was named interim superintendent in July 2003, stepping in for Wally Stanley who retired after serving since February 1996.
Howard, who had previously worked as East Valley’s assistant superintendent, took over at the start of the 2007-08 school year. Christine Burgess served in the top spot the two previous years after taking over for Michael Jones in June 2005.
Christiansen said the EVSD search will place emphasis on securing a leader who will bring long-term cohesiveness to the job.
“We hope we can bring in someone who will provide some stability and become an active part of our community,” she said.
In Central Valley, the stakeholder input process wrapped up on Jan. 25. Last Monday, the CVSD board of directors heard the results of the public feedback regarding the perceived qualifications of a new superintendent as well as the opportunities and challenges that the district presents.
Tom Dingus, school board president, said the information will “help guide us through the full superintendent search process.”
Northwest Leadership Associates, a Washington-based company specializing in school administrative searches, was hired by the board of directors to identify a number of viable candidates. The board will interview each candidate and narrow the list to a group of finalists who will each be brought to the district for a day.
Melanie Rose, a spokeswoman for CVSD, said a typical superintendent contract lasts three years, though there are general stipulations that could void the agreement if certain standards are not met.
East Valley has brought on McPherson and Jacobsen Consultants to help compile a pool of candidates. Like Central Valley, EVSD is asking for community feedback to identify characteristics of the next superintendent as well as an overview of conditions within the district. Christiansen said the results of the public input are expected by Feb. 12.
|
|
By
Craig Howard
