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Superintendent search nearing end

The search for a new Superintendent of Schools for the McCreary County School District is drawing to a close as the screening committee presented their recommendations for the position to the McCreary County School Board Tuesday night.

In a closed meeting the committee performed their final task of the process by presenting three potential successors to Donnie Wright, whose term officially ended on December 31.

The names of the candidates cannot be disclosed due to legal reasons, but Tim Eaton, a Field Consultant with the Kentucky School Board Association confirmed that of the original 18 applicants, a total of three candidates were considered by the committee to be fitting potential new hires for the job.

Over the next two weeks the Board is expected to interview each candidate before coming to their own decision on the hire.

If the Board is unsatisfied with any of the candidates, they can ask the committee to reconvene to select additional names, or make the choice to interview applicants not suggested by the committee.

The timeline for an expected hire was February 1, but it could change as circumstances warrant.

Eaton said the screening committee did a “very good job” over the course of the past few weeks in going through the various candidates.

“I commend the District on the committee,” he said. “There was a very diverse group selected for this important job.”

The committee, comprised of Board Chairman Brandon Kidd, Principal representative Sharon Privett, parent Jennifer Meadows, Classified Staff representative Timothy Lykins and Teachers Cindy Moore and Angela Loudermilk, were elected by their peers to serve and reviewed the applications submitted to the KSBA, who helped organize and guide the search process.

Of the 18 initial applicants, the committee focused on between eight and twelve potential candidates after incomplete applications and out-of-state applicants were dismissed per Board instructions.

Of the original applicants 16 were men and two female, with 12 from within Kentucky. Three were current superintendents in other districts, seven were principals, three in school district administration, three retired, one teacher and one from an educational organization.

The committee winnowed down the remaining applicants by conducted background checks and interviews with the candidates before narrowing the field down to three. As per the directive from the Board when the committee was formed, they were tasked with presenting up to five potential candidates for the job.

Eaton stated the next step would be to set up interviews with the candidates with the Board, and to help the Board develop a list of questions to be used in the process.

Once the Board has made a selection, and the candidate accepts their offer, a public meeting will be held to announce their decision to name a new Superintendent.

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