The Worthington Board of Education met in executive session last night to finalize our selection of the Superintendent candidates that we will invite to first round interviews. It was a difficult evening because there were so many qualified candidates. Clicking on the candidates name will direct you to their application which would include biographical information as well as personal statements of why they are interested in the job. The board looks forward to interviewing:
1) Dr. Trent Bowers
2) Dr. Michele Evans
3) Joyce L. Hackett
4) Dr. Blane McCann
5) Dr. Todd Nichols
6) Dr. Lisa Wendell
The Board will interview these candidates on May 2, 3 and 5. On May 5, the board will select candidates to move into second round interviews and also to meet with community representatives.
In addition to these 6 candidates, the search consultants are continuing their efforts to directly recruit candidates. Those candidates, if they choose to apply, will participate in second round interviews with the Board and will also meet with the community representatives later in the month.
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I am shocked that Steve Castle is not being interviewed. Appears the search firm led by Ralph Johnson, former NA Superintendent, sabotaged his candidancy. No great surprise. Politics as usual in Worthington and at the ESC.
ReplyDeleteAre you saying Marc that candidates who have not even applied will be interviewed if they do? They didn't meet the timeline, now being arm twisted when they apparently were not interested, and then guranteed to be interviewed. This sounds like someone not yet in the mix has been hand picked for the job. If so, this lacks total credibility in the process and seems very unethical on the boards part as public officials.
ReplyDeleteI am shocked that the board president is publishing the applications/resumes/personal info (including cell phone numbers) of the applicants who have not yet been hired! Are they not entitled to any confidentiality? What if they don't want their current employers to be aware of their application status?
ReplyDeleteAnon 3:54 -
ReplyDeleteThe process used by the search consultants is designed to find the best Superintendent for Worthington. It consists of two parts. The traditional approach is to cast a wide net by submitting a vacancy announcement to education magazines and a variety of other localtions where job seekers are likely to see it. The non-traditional approach is to directly recruit candidates who are not presently looking for a new job but would consider leaving for the right opportunity. Once a mutual interest has been established, the candidate will be interviewed.
This practice is standard is the business world.
As far is being ethical, our board has been as transparent as possible about the process. We selected the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio partially because they offered this process and we discussed that in an open meeting of the board. Our process has been documented by the press on multiple occasions and I believe that the combination of the traditional and non-traditional will ultimately find an outstanding Superintendent for Worthington Schools.
Anon 4:32 -
ReplyDeleteAs surprising as this is, once a candidate applies for a public job, all the material associated with that application becomes public record and is therefore available to the press and any member of the public. In Worthington, the press usually asks for all of the information that is available on each candidate.
Candidates for the position of Superintendent understand that this is part of the landscape of life in the public sector and so they don't provide any information that they wouldn't want appearing on the front page of the paper, including resume information and so forth.
I posted the information to allow Worthington residents to have access to as much information as possible should they wish to provide input to the board. Any resident could receive the same information merely by calling the district and filing a public records request.
I just noticed on This Week Newspaper site a listing of academic and enrollment information of the finalist. Although difficult to read it clearly points out that these candidates do not appear to be a good fit for Worthington Schools. The ESC search process has lost much credibility in this kind of work in other places. Plus we have the Ohio School Boards Association right in our back yard who represents boards and performs these searches across the state.
ReplyDeleteI also am shocked that Steve Castle has not been chosen to be interviewed after reviewing his accomplishments at New Albany. Here we have someone who understands Central Ohio, a proven track record of academic excellence, and having passed two of the largest operating levies ever in Ohio. Knowing and speaking with people from NA, they all commend the work he did and his expertise in school funding. It certainly appears he was screwed over by Ralph Johnson who is leading the search. The board should have risen above this and acted in a professional way. Yes the boards credibility is at risk. Especially if we end up with a subpar superintendent driven by politics. Food for thought...
Dr. Trent Bowers appears to be the best fit on paper. Does anyone know when it will be announced who is moving on to the next round?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering the same thing. Haven't seen any update lately. I would agree that if the board is not going to get serious about interviewing the most qualified candidate with a proven track record that we need to move forward with Trent Bowers. Just maybe that was the plan all along, show the public that we are doing a public search but hire the inside candidate??
ReplyDeleteI see you finally blocked out the personal information of the candidates. Maybe it wasn't all supposed to be made public after all? Glad to see some privacy returned to the candidates.
ReplyDelete