New superintendent pick close
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on May 10, 2015 1:50 AM
The search for a new schools superintendent is wrapping up, with plans to name the district leader soon.
"The negotiations are ongoing. Hopefully, we will have an announcement in the next 7 to 10 days," board chairman Chris West said late this past week.
At the school board's May meeting Monday, only one member made reference to the process.
"I'm excited about us getting in the short rows for a superintendent," board member Rick Pridgen said. "We've got some great candidates and I look forward to when we actually choose one."
The search began soon after former superintendent, Dr. Steven Taylor, announced he was stepping down on Dec. 1, 2014. He had served in the role since 2000.
In late November, Dr. Sandra McCullen, then associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction, was named interim superintendent, effective through June 30.
Given a 60-day window for candidates to apply, the district's top spot drew more than two dozen responses by the Feb. 28 deadline. The responses were mostly from in-state candidates, West said.
"I think there were four or maybe five of the 30 that were out of state," he said. "We narrowed it down to 15, then we narrowed it down to eight, eight face-to-face interviews. We narrowed it down to three and then two."
The board conducted two full days of closed session interviews of those eight candidates in early April. Recent weeks have been spent discussing who would be the right fit for the county schools.