School district to begin search for superintendent

By Jazmine Knight

The St. Joseph School Board conducted a special meeting to discuss the request for proposals, or RFPs, submitted in the search for a new superintendent.

The search comes after current superintendent, Gabe Edgar, announced his retirement from the district earlier this summer. SJSD Board President, LaTonya Williams, says replacing Dr. Edgar will be pretty difficult.

“The new applicant will have some large shoes to fill,” Williams said. “I just want a good individual who will know how to do their job and lead the district effectively.”

During the special meeting, the school board opened the submitted RFP’s. The district will select one out of four firms that will help recruit potential candidates.

“They will do pretty much everything. Schedule the meetings. Find the candidates, engage the staff members in the community, they will facilitate a process,” said Williams.

The district wants to ensure that transparency with the community is a number one priority. They are also taking price and candidate screenings into consideration.

“There was a big price difference because in between all of them we chose the lower two,” said Williams.

She says that even though the two firms are on the lower end of the price scale, she believes both will meet the district’s needs effectively.

The board eventually decided to conduct interviews with two firms. They expect interviews to take place on August 19th.

Once a firm is selected, the district plans to open up the application process and adjust the timeline accordingly.