The Keokuk School District received applications from 15 candidates interested in becoming the district's next superintendent. School Board President Janne Long said those applications have been reviewed by more than a dozen school board members, district administrators, and central office staff to determine if the candidates are qualified and meet the district's experience requirements.
She said if more than eight make it through the first round, phone interviews will be used to cut the field to the top 6-8 applicants. Those candidates will then be invited to Keokuk for interviews with district employees and with select community leaders.
Long said the results of those interviews would determine the two or three finalists. They would return to Keokuk for more interviews.
The district will also hold public meet-and-greets with the finalists. Long said a priority of the board is to get the public involved in the search.
“I mean, last time, they weren’t involved at all,” said Long, referring to the fact that a private firm led the most recent search for a new superintendent, a search that required complete confidentiality until Tim Hood was hired as superintendent.
“That’s too big of a decision for me or the board to make on our own.”
Hood’s last day is June 30. He is leaving to take a shared superintendent job in southwest Iowa.
Long said the goal is for the school board to offer the job to the top candidate prior to July 1.
She does not believe the district will need to hire an interim superintendent, even if the person selected cannot start for several weeks, because former superintendent Lora Wolff is working for the district as a consultant during the transition.
Wolff is helping to create a vision for the district and to prepare employees, administrators, and board members for the upcoming phases of the superintendent search process.
