Schools

School Board Delays Decision on Superintendent Finalists

The Birmingham Board of Education interviewed more candidates for the superintendent position Thursday night, but scheduled a meeting for 9 a.m. Saturday in which to name two finalists.

After a total of five interviews, the decided Thursday night they wanted a little more time before naming two finalists for the district's soon-to-be-vacated superintendent position.

A special meeting has been set for 9 a.m. Saturday at the district's administrative offices, during which the school board will discuss the five semifinalists and then pick two to return for additional interviews next week.

The district is looking for a replacement for Superintendent David Larson, .

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On Wednesday and Thursday night, the school board interviewed each of the five semifinalists for one hour each. The candidates are:

  • Richard Machesky, assistant superintendent of secondary instruction at Troy Public Schools
  • Fred Procter, principal at Birmingham's
  • Robert Shaner, executive director of instruction and technology at the Warren Consolidated School District
  • John Maloy, superintendent of Aspen School District, in Aspen, CO
  • Daniel Nerad, superintendent of the Madison Metropolitan School District, in Madison, WI

However, school board president Susan Hill said school board members needed more time to process the five interviews, as well as all the resumes and letters of recommendation.

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During the meeting, Hill said the board will discuss each candidate's strengths in order to reach a consensus on the top two candidates.

"I want to make it very clear that when we're moving someone forward in the process, it's because we want to learn more about these candidates," Hill said. "We're not making hiring decisions."

Next week, the finalists will meet with community members, tour the district and then make presentations to the board on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

According to Hill, the board hopes to make a decision by June 11 so a new superintendent is in place by July 1.

Final candidates talk strengths and weaknesses during interviews

Interviewed Thursday night were Nerad and Maloy, the two semifinalists from out-of-state. .

According to Nerad, while he has dealt with many contentious issues during his career, his main objective is to be an advocate for students. 

Nerad announced in late March that he wouldn't be seeking an extension of his contract in Madison, which will expire next June. Nerad admitted Thursday that his current district has been riddled with divisiveness, and according the Wisconsin State Journal, four school board members rated Nerad's performance as below proficient last year.

"As much as I look at myself as a unifier, I don't feel like I've necessarily been successful in doing that (in Madison)," Nerad said.

Still, Nerad said he is a collaborative leader and is focused not only on students' performance in the classroom, but whether students develop into "good people."

"It's not only knowledge and skills (that are important)," Nerad said, "but how young people develop as people."

School board members weren't able to ask Maloy all 14 questions during his one-hour time slot, though he stressed that one of his key strengths was listening and being a mentor for both staff and students.

Maloy's current district in Aspen is currently made up of approximately 1,500 students. Maloy said he's been seriously engaged with the district since coming on as assistant superintendent four years ago, from reading to first graders every Monday to meeting individually with each graduating senior.

"You want to be making sure you're establishing opportunities for all your staff to be successful," Maloy said. "I want people to be inspired by quality leadership."

Before Aspen, Maloy was a superintendent in Bloomington, IN, where he headed up an ambitious reform program to bring the district's struggling buildings up to state standards, including going to all-day school for some.

Maloy said he ultimately believes they made the right decisions in Bloomington, but if he could do it again, he might have taken things a little slower.

"In Bloomington, they ended up going too fast to get things done," he said. "In the end, after people caught their breath, it ended up being successful but I would say that would be one of my main issues."

Check out Birmingham Schools Superintendent Search 2012 for more on Birmingham Public Schools' search for a new superintendent this spring and summer.

Correction: There are approximately 1,500 students in the Aspen School District.


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