The Carson City School District Board of Trustees will proceed with its second round of interviews for superintendent candidates Feb. 22 after deciding upon district fiscal services director Andrew Feuling and Manchester School District Superintendent John Goldhardt of New Hampshire.
The board discussed its process and potential scenarios to interview its finalists for its vacancy at its regular board meeting Tuesday, mulling possibilities for meet-and-greet times with the community, school tours and even a second survey if needed for one or both candidates. Hosting firm Nevada Association of School Boards recently completed a community survey gathering feedback from district employees and families during the first round of interviews of six candidates at the end of January.
But trustees on Tuesday felt a simpler, more efficient process for the final round would be more inclusive for everyone.
The meeting will convene at 8:15 a.m. Feb. 22, with one interview planned for 8:30 to 10 a.m. and the second for 10:30 a.m. to noon. NASB will request the candidates to give a presentation of up to 30 minutes each after each candidate provides an introduction, and presentations will be followed by open discussion and a question-and-answer session with the board.
Feuling and Goldhardt will be permitted to request the use of any technology necessary for their presentation, and they will be asked to present on the following scenario: “Carson City School District is currently refreshing its strategic plan. Please provide your understanding of the strategic plan and what steps you would take to strengthen it. How would you measure your goals and discuss what the district has learned to date and how it will move forward with your implementation?”
The meeting will resume during the regularly scheduled board meeting at 7 p.m. that evening with general periods of public comment as typically allowed to be scheduled.
Initially, a 15-minute presentation had been proposed, but Trustee Mike Walker said since the board is hiring a community leader, it was important to give the candidates more time to speak about who they are and to be open about their vision.
“One of the things I didn’t like about first step was we didn’t get sense of who they are or their educational philosophy,” Walker said. “So this way, we get that sense of who the people are. They can come in and tell us who they are.”
The motion was approved 6-0, with Trustee Stacie Wilke-McCulloch abstaining.
