Superintendent search down to four potential candidates
by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online!
April 13, 2010
The Board of Trustees of Sublette County School District #1 (SCSD#1) announced that they have completed the process to narrow the list to four finalists to interview in Pinedale for the position of Superintendent of Schools.
According to interim superintendent/business manager Vern McAdams, approximately 200 interested candidates applied for the job. This far exceeded the school’s experience with the last time four years ago when they were hiring for this position and they received less than 20 applications. Of the 200 applications received, 88 were qualified applications, which is a record for our search consultant as well.
The District will be hosting the four finalists on visits to Sublette County on April 16, 19, 20, and 21 so they can see the area, tour the schools and meet the staff.
The Board invites all parents and community members to attend a gathering from 6:00 to 7:00 PM in the Elementary School Library to "greet" and "meet" each candidate. An input form will be provided to share perceptions. Part of the evening will include an input sheet where the public can share their perceptions.
After the meeting with the public, each candidate will sit down with the Board of Trustees for several hours for a formal interview.
The last candidate visit will be on Wednesday, April 21st. The Board of Trustees will hold a Special Meeting on Thursday, April 22nd and go into an executive session to get administration feedback. The Board plans to announce a decision as soon as they complete the process of checking references and any other investigation they deem necessary.
"A lot of things were done to be really attractive," McAdams said. As part of that, the school board raised the Superintendent position salary to $151,000 per year. McAdams said the average superintendent salary in Wyoming ranges from $127,000 to $128,000 per year. Former Superintendent, Doris Woodbury, was paid $125,390 per year.
"We don’t want to settle for average," McAdams said. "We don’t want it from the staff or the kids. We want to do better than that, which is partially reflected in that $151,000 salary."
The school district hired Ray and Associates, an independent company out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa that specializes in school executive searches, to screen potential candidates for the hiring process. The fee for the search firm was $14,500.
The new Superintendent will replace Doris Woodbury, who was terminated by the Board of Trustees at the end of February by a unanimous vote with an explanation that it was in the best interest of the staff, students and the district in order to move forward with "our new district direction."
All four finalist ended up being men. Three are currently superintendents in other school districts and the fourth is an assistant superintendent; currently working as the interim superintendent in his district. Three have previously been to Wyoming and are familiar with the area. They have been encouraged to bring their spouses with them for the visit.
McAdams said, "Any one of the four can do the job and do it well. I hope the public comes out and meets them and gives the Board some input."
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