School board member Sarah Johnson resigned at the start of the year, opening a vacancy the board plans to fill after finishing the superintendent selection process.
School board president Jennifer Bumpus announced that the district wouldn't seek to fill the board vacancy until February after the superintendent selection is finished.
Johnson was elected in November 2021 on a campaign of progressing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Some school district watchers said it's a loss that Johnson would not be part of the superintendent selection.
Her replacement would be from her district, which covers much of the Maltby area including neighborhoods west of Echo Lake, Welch Road and along Highway 9.
MONROE — Twenty-one people applied for a shot to be the Monroe School District's next superintendent.
Over the next two weeks, the school board will be narrowing the candidates down to select the finalists, who will be publicly interviewed at the Thursday, Jan. 26 board meeting.
Additionally that Thursday, there will be a public meeting from 6 to 8:30 p.m. where a panel of parents and community members will ask questions to the finalists. It will be held both in-person and on Zoom. The general public can share opinions about each finalist candidate through an online feedback form.
The candidates will also do a few school tours at three locations that day.
"This particular pool included several experienced district leaders," of superintendents currently at other districts and other top-level administrators, consultant John Bash told the school board.
Contract negotiations for the new superintendent are expected to begin in February.
The candidate names were kept confidential to attract a more complete slate, consultant Kristine McDuffy said, to essentially avoid having sitting superintendents be put into awkward conversations with their own districts. The names will be revealed if the board decides the semi-finalists which could be as soon as the Jan. 20 board meeting.
The district hired consulting firm Hazard Attea Young and Associates to conduct the executive search. Part of their work has been to pre-screen candidates to see if they fit Monroe’s goals as a school district and to research candidates for any reputational problems.
If it feels like deja vu from last year when the board interviewed candidates to select a superintendent, you’re right.
Superintendent Marci Larsen was hired for a one-year stint as interim superintendent.
The district always planned to do a search to find a permanent superintendent this year, the district said previously.
