The hunt began over a month ago…a long process for an important job. But with the next school year looming ahead, they're running out of time. Dr. Heath Morrison is leaving for North Carolina in less than 2 weeks. At least 20 applicants want his job.
For now, their names are confidential to protect their jobs back home. Washoe County School Board President Ken Grein told us, "A lot of them don't really want their names released in their districts unless they know they're a finalist."
But by the end of the week we'll know who they are. The board will select 3 to 5 finalists. Each board member has their own priorities of what they want in the next chief. School board member Estela Gutierrez is looking for a superintendent who continues the system's inclusiveness. As she told us, "It can't be just one over the other. It has to be all children, and from an equitable standpoint."
Board president Ken Grein wants the next superintendent to have that same profitable connection with state lawmakers. As he told us, "You know, Dr. Heath Morrison brought a tremendous relationship with the legislature, in building that relationship."
The whittling down process is going to be tough. We were told the 20 candidates are very good. The board has to get the list down to 3, 4 or 5. Grein told us that, "Going through these applications, there are a lot of quality, you know, qualified people."
It does make it a bit tougher for the board. Grein said, "It's going to make it tougher on us, but that's good. The tougher for us, the better it is for Washoe County. I think we really had good responses." Estela Gutierrez was more enthusiastic about what they saw. She told us, "I see about 4 superstars in the bunch. Super, super stars."
Ken Grein thinks they'll be able to fill the post by August, and before the new school year starts. For him, the hardest part is over.
Once the final 3 to 5 are chosen, each one will be brought to Reno, at district expense, for town hall meetings, which will all be open to the public. They begin next week. If you'd like to be involved, the schedule is here at this link:
http://www.washoecountyschools.org/community/superintendent-search
written by John Potter, Channel 2 News.
