Memphis college board will regroup subsequent week to proceed superintendent search — science weblog

The Memphis-Shelby County Colleges board will vote subsequent week on easy methods to proceed in selecting a superintendent after its nationwide search was derailed Saturday when board members raised questions on an out of doors search agency’s suggestion of three finalists.

Board chair Althea Greene, who has been main the search over the past six months, mentioned she paused the search as a result of “it was very clear final Saturday that we weren’t prepared to maneuver on.”

The board must determine what number of finalists might be interviewed and whether or not interim superintendent Toni Williams is certified to fill the function completely. It’s attainable  — although unlikely — that the board will droop the search and restart the method.

Deliberations by board members Saturday and in Tuesday’s assembly have been the primary because the Memphis board employed its exterior search agency in February. The board’s issues in regards to the slate of finalists and lack of transparency additionally led to public complaints — a scenario Greene sought to keep away from. 

Board member Amber Huett-Garcia pushed fellow board members to proceed having public conversations about subsequent steps, quite than limiting themselves to the person conversations that appeared to depart the board at odds with one another and the search agency on Saturday.

The Saturday choice to halt the method led no less than one candidate — Brenda Cassellius, whom the search agency really helpful as a finalist for the function — to withdraw. Seven different candidates have additionally withdrawn. 

The stress is on the board to regain group belief and rent a frontrunner who can enhance tutorial outcomes for the district’s 100,000 college students.

Hazard, Younger, Attea and Associates, the surface agency main the search, really helpful that the board think about two extra contenders Tuesday: Angela Whitelaw, the Memphis district’s deputy superintendent of lecturers, and Keith Miles Jr., the present superintendent of Bridgeton Public Colleges in New Jersey. Miles can also be a finalist for the superintendent function for Lancaster, Pennsylvania’s college district, Lancaster On-line reported.

Some board members nonetheless query {qualifications} coverage

Tuesday night, board members targeted their debate on coverage revisions and the best way candidates had been evaluated, with some advocating for continued group involvement within the the rest of the search. There was little dialogue Tuesday of restarting the method utterly. 

Board member Sheleah Harris reiterated that Hazard Younger didn’t display screen candidates in opposition to the board’s coverage for minimal {qualifications}, and it’s unclear if Williams, who has  a background in finance as an alternative of lecturers, meets them. Neighborhood members, together with these on a search advisory committee, have raised the identical issues. Harris additionally mentioned it wouldn’t be truthful for the board to vary the coverage after the search course of has already began.

Huett-Garcia additionally requested about Williams’ {qualifications}, and district lawyer Kenneth Walker informed board members he was not ready to debate it. Williams, who initially mentioned she wasn’t within the place long-term, sought a authorized opinion on the coverage, Hazard Younger informed board members Saturday. 

Board member Kevin Woods mentioned the board ought to welcome ongoing public scrutiny because it discusses subsequent steps. Finally, he mentioned, the board itself can determine to maintain the coverage, change it, or droop it. 

In an effort to re-establish belief, Huett-Garcia sought solutions from the search agency to questions from the group. A type of questions was whether or not the agency was directed to incorporate particular individuals into the highest three or dozens spots.

“The three candidates that you simply noticed on Saturday had been our high candidates. So I would like you all to relaxation assured that … they adopted the rubric throughout the board with constancy,” Huett-Garcia mentioned. 

Hazard Younger advised the board interview any candidates of its selection together with the highest 4 candidates now earlier than the board.

Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Colleges for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Attain Laura at LTestino@chalkbeat.org.