STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK
PHOTO BY JERRY GALLAGHER
The Blaine County School District has scheduled a special meeting for Thursday, Jan. 21 at which the board hopes to vote on the approval of a contract for the appointment of a new superintendent.
The vote will be by roll call, and each trustee will have the opportunity to discuss the reasons for his or her vote.
The search started in August with the national search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates conducting interviews and gathering imput from staff and community about what they were looking for in a superintendent.
Twenty-seven applicants were eventually narrowed to five semi-finalists and, following interviews, the board elected two finalists: Dr. Heather Sanchez, executive director of schools in the Bellevue School District in Washington, and James Foudy, superintendent of the McCall-Donnelly School District in Idaho.
The two finalists participated in virtual forums with staff and community members, then made in-person visits to the district during which time they toured all eight schools and met individually with each board member.
The board then conducted a second round of individual interviews, asking how each candidate might address various hypothetical situations a district superintendent might face.
The board is scheduled to discuss the hiring of a superintendent at tonight’s School Board Meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19, and can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCbRVS6qI1MzIB8ORLeVgig/videos
The board will also hear a report on the feasibility of moving to in-person learning at tonight’s meeting.