Trustees begin review of applicants
Albany ISD trustees began the process of reviewing candidates for the superintendent’s position during a special meeting on Wednesday evening, Oct. 3, starting with 30 applicants after one withdrew after being named the lone finalist for another district.
Another 11 names were added for a total of 41 applications before the application period ended Oct. 4.
The board met again yesterday (Oct. 10) to continue going over the documents, with the intention of announcing a lone finalist by the end of November.
After choosing the top candidates from the applications and checking references, the trustees will begin conducting personal interviews this month, according to interim superintendent Doyleen Terrell.
Board members also heard the results of a special online survey about the superintendent selection that was available during September to AISD staff, parents, and the community.
Terrell reported that there were close to 100 responses to the survey – 45 from parents, more than 30 from staff members, and the rest from other citizens of the community.
Most felt that it was important for the new superintendent to live in the district.
Effective communication skills, work experience, community relationship, and the ability to help the board with goal setting and planning were among the top answers. Personal integrity was also important to those answering the survey.
Board president Betsy Parsons related several statistics that she had learned at a recent conference, including the fact that the state has “taken $3.2 billion out of the education fund” over the last few decades.
She said that the average superintendent’s salary for districts this size is $96,119. Applicants should not expect to receive the $167,000 currently listed online as AISD’s salary, she added, because former superintendent Shane Fields had been in Albany for 16 years, much longer than the average statewide tenure of four years for a superintendent.
