The Enterprise Board of Education voted unanimously to begin a search for a full-time superintendent during a July 18 meeting, agreeing to post the 30-day legal notice for the position opening as soon as possible.
Hand Arendall, a law firm out of Birmingham, will receive the applications for the board, which keeps applicants anonymous until the final stages of the selection process.
“I think we would get more applicants submitting the applications through an attorney,” board member Doug Vickers said. “That way, whoever applies won’t risk damaging the current relationship where they are at.”
Board member Bert Barr stressed the importance of community involvement in the selection process, a sentiment echoed by the other members of the board.
“There is a way all the system employees and members of the community could have input,” Barr said. “We could at least get the characteristics and traits we’re looking for as a community and use that as a filter for the search.”
As a part of the motion, board members agreed to verbally contact the Alabama Association of School Board for assistance with setting a community involvement website.
The AASB already has the ability to set up a website allowing residents to give their input on the selection process.
Members of the board were informed about this option during an AASB training session on July 9.
Though no official timeline was set for the search, members of the board agreed to discuss the timing with Board Attorney Roger Bates at the next meeting.
The most recent employment search by the board was for a chief school financial officer, which took almost two months.
“If it’s going to take an extra two weeks to get the right person, I want to take the extra two weeks,” Barr said. “I don’t want to compromise this (process) because of time.”
The next meeting of the Enterprise Board of Education is scheduled for 6 p.m., July 30, at the system’s central office.
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