Five people vying for Whitley County Superintendent job

There are five people vying to replace Scott Paul as Whitley County Superintendent.

Tim Crawford, an attorney for the Whitley County Board of Education, who is overseeing the early stages of the superintendent search, said that a total of five people have applied for the position, including one applicant from out of state and four applicants that are in-state. Two of the in-state applicants are from within the school district.

The deadline for applicants was 5 p.m. Friday.

State law prohibits the release of the names of the applicants and only the name of the new superintendent will be announced, Crawford said.

Now a six-member superintendent screening committee, which is made up of one board member, Chairman Larry Lambdin, two teachers, one principal, one parent and one classified employee, will recommend no more than three candidates to the board of education by April 27 at the latest.

The names of the finalists are to be submitted in alphabetical order to the board of education.

The screening committee is authorized to use any reasonable means to screen candidates and at its discretion can utilize a list of potential questions supplied by Crawford to interview the candidates.

On May 1, there will be a joint meeting of the screening committee and the board of education so the board can officially receive the list of recommended candidates.

The board of education will interview the candidates on May 7, and will hire the new superintendent on May 10.

On March 6, Paul presented the board of education with his letter of resignation effective at the close of business on June 30, 2018. He is retiring after 29 years in education, including the last eight years as superintendent.

The only legal requirement to apply for the job is that the applicant must have a valid Kentucky superintendent certificate from the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board.

Deputy Superintendent Paula Trickett, who is retiring on the same day as Paul, has said she is absolutely not interested in applying for the superintendent position.