Schools

School Board Chooses Five Candidates for Superintendent Interviews

Interviewee names and backgrounds are expected to be released Friday.

The Royal Oak Board of Education chose five candidates Thursday to interview for the schools superintendent position and expects to announce the names on Friday.

Referred to Thursday night only as candidates 18, 22, 26, 30 and 4, the applicants were to be notified following the special meeting.  The Royal Oak Board of Education members unanimously agreed on the five finalists who will interview to replace Superintendent Thomas Moline, who retires in June after five years with the district.

Marie Miller, Michigan Association of School Boards adjunct consultant, said she would contact the candidates Thursday night or Friday morning, and upon their acceptance to interview, would announce their names. Miller was hired by the district to conduct the search.

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“For me it was a couple of candidates floated to the top and that was it,” said school board president Gary Briggs. Briggs said everybody chose the top four right from the get-go.

“Community involvement was huge for me,” said vice president Deborah Anderson. The board also said their criteria required that candidates be ethical and honest and be highly educated, preferably with a Ph.D.

Find out what's happening in Royal Oakwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Briggs said he is extremely pleased with the level of applicants the district received. “We have top-notch candidates,” he said.

Briggs said the board was also pleased with how well rounded the candidates are, and that they have varying backgrounds.

Miller said the candidates chosen by the board were very similar to the resumes she would have suggested based on the board criteria. She said none of the candidates is in talks with other districts seeking a superintendent.

Interviews will begin 6:15 p.m. April 11 during an open board of education meeting. Miller said the interviews will be set 1 1/2  hours apart. The second round of initial interviews will take place April 12. The second set of interviews is scheduled for April 20 and 21.

The deadline to apply for the position was March 25, and 32 people applied. A decision is expected by early May, with the new superintendent in place by July 1.


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