Coble: Superintendent semifinalists to be declared

January 20, 2012

By COLLEEN MCCARTHY
sdnedu@bellsouth.net

The Starkville School District Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting today at noon to announce the semifinalist candidates for the district superintendent position.
“We have discussed releasing the names and determining the dates for the timeline going forward,” board President Keith Coble said.
Last week, the board narrowed down the list of 22 candidates and sent the names to the Mississippi School Board Association, which handled the background checks and candidate confirmation.
Coble could not confirm how many semifinalists they now have, but said all the candidates they selected have passed the background check and confirmed they wish to continue to be a part of the pool.
The board has yet to determine how it will proceed with the rest of the process, from interviews to eventually naming a superintendent.
“At the last meeting, we discussed different possibilities in terms of whether we wanted to do it in a one-step or two-step process, and that’s something we plan to discuss in open session,” Coble said.
Last week, the board determined it would hold some form of a public session where the community could hear from the final candidates and give feedback to the board.
The school district has searched for a new superintendent since last spring when former superintendent Judy Couey resigned. Applications were accepted throughout September and October, and the search netted 22 applicants from eight states.
Following interviews and reference checks, MSBA compiled a detailed report for the board on each candidate. The board members reviewed the report over the winter break and selected potential semifinalists last week.
Coble previously said once it had the list of semifinalists the board would like to get the interview process started as soon as possible.