Five vie for top school position

Terry Webster

Tuesday, Nov. 16, 1999 | 11:16 a.m.

Results from a nationwide search for a new superintendent to head the Clark County School District will be disclosed Wednesday with the introduction of five semifinalists.

Clark County School Board members will attempt to narrow its choices to head the nation's eighth-largest school district with four days of interviewing the candidates.

Interviews conclude Saturday, when the board expects to decide on one to three finalists. The board also could eliminate all of the semifinalists and begin the process all over again.

Board member Susan Brager said the candidates' identities will remain secret until the district-hired search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates announces them.

"It has been an incredible process so far, and we have a very, very big challenge before us to be able to determine who the best person is for the Clark County School District," Brager said.

"I think the search firm will be able to come up with some incredible people," she said. "I believe they are going to find someone who wants to come here as much as we want them to."

Brager and other school officials have said they are in no rush, however.

"If the chemistry isn't right, and we don't have a consensus, then we will have to start again," Brager said.

Aside from a two-hour interview with the School Board, all candidates will participate in a three-hour assessment center experience. Through the assessment center, candidates will be asked to demonstrate knowledge in a key area of concern in the district, such as rapid growth or the student dropout rate.

The selection process, which has enlisted community comment and advice from the Superintendent Search Committee, has not been without controversy. Last week, the education advocacy group Alliance For Social Justice held a press conference announcing that it wants a new superintendent who is sensitive to minority and at-risk student issues.

In response, school officials maintain that concern is addressed in a list outlining 16 criteria the new superintendent should have.

Board member Larry Mason held a meeting Monday evening at the Education Center with members of the Hispanic community and other concerned citizens to talk about qualifications for the new superintendent.

Again taxpayers stressed the importance of having a superintendent with a proven track record in addressing minority and at-risk student issues. They also said they want someone who is sensitive to these issues.

Board member Sheila Moulton, who also attended the meeting, said the assessment centers will be one way to address the candidates' problem-solving skills.

She said they will be given three scenarios. One will be given to the candidates 24 hours in advance; candidates will have 30 minutes to prepare for another. The final scenario will be given to them on-the-spot.

"Through these three methods of assessing the individuals, we will really be able to see what they are like," Moulton said.

Mason pledged to keep the taxpayers' concerns in mind while choosing the new superintendent.

Here is the schedule for the superintendent search, which are open to the public, are being held at the United Way offices, 1660 E. Flamingo Road:

Second interviews are slated for Dec. 2, and will be followed by district tours. The School Board hopes to name the new superintendent by Dec. 16.

During preliminary discussions, board members have said they would like to increase the $158,000 base salary currently paid Superintendent Brian Cram to at least the $170,000 range.

Cram, who has served as superintendent since 1989, retires effective in July.