Whitley County begins search for new superintendent

The search is officially on for a new superintendent for the Whitley County school district, and if all goes according to plan, the Whitley County Board of Education will hire its new superintendent by May 10.

Whitley County Superintendent Scott Paul has announced his pending retirement effective July 1.

At the close of a special called Whitley County Board of Education meeting on March 6, Superintendent Scott Paul presented the board with his letter of resignation effective at the close of business on June 30, 2018. Paul is retiring after 29 years in education, including the last eight years as superintendent.

The Whitley County Board of Education held a special meeting on March 8, and formally accepted Paul’s resignation after meeting in executive session for 46 minutes to discuss appointment of an individual employee.

For board member J.E. Jones, who is one of the longest serving board members in the state, this will be third superintendent he has hired during his more than 30-year tenure on the board.

“I am looking for someone like Scott to carry on and keep the school system moving forward and in good shape and everything. That’s all I ever wanted. I told Lonnie (Anderson) you need to set an example where people won’t accept any less. That is my goal,” Jones said.

After the executive session, the board laid out the schedule for which it will go about finding Paul’s replacement.

Board attorney Tim Crawford will conduct the early stages of the superintendent search on behalf of the board by receiving applications until April 13.

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

After the applications are received, the six-member superintendent screening committee, which is made up of one board member, 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.

Crawford said that each group would select its own representative or representatives to serve on the screening committee. For instance, the teachers will vote and elect their representatives for the committee. The principals will vote and elect their representative for the committee.

Upon the recommendation of Jones and the other members of the board of education, Chairman Larry Lambdin appointed himself at the board’s member of the screening committee.

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.

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

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.