Superintendent search plans video finalist interviews

Jan. 22, 2022  |  By Lisa Scagliotti 

The search for the next superintendent for the Harwood Unified Union School District continues this month with a goal of making a hiring choice by early February. 

The selection committee has been meeting and continues its process to review applicants and narrow down the field to just a few finalists. The process includes dates for finalist interviews that are recorded and shared online with the public before the school board deliberates on its choice. That final phase will include an opportunity for people to share feedback with the school board as well. 

So far, the selection committee to date has held three meetings where it reviewed applications in executive session. It first asked seven of the 13 who applied to submit videos with more information about themselves. Next, the committee met last week in executive session to review those videos and narrow down the list to five for the first round of interviews, which began via Zoom on Thursday and are scheduled to continue with another executive session on Monday, Jan. 24. 

The committee's goal is to select up to three finalists from these interviews by Monday. Those finalists would be invited to the last interview round and a community visit now tentatively scheduled for Jan. 31 and/or Feb. 1.

Board Chair Torrey Smith explained that as part of that process, the committee will host an interview for each finalist which will be recorded and broadcast on YouTube. Viewers can then fill out a short survey on each candidate to offer feedback for the school board to review before it makes its choice.

So far, the schedule calls for the interviews to be posted on the district’s YouTube channel for two evenings – from 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 1, until midnight on Wednesday, Feb. 2. Each one is expected to last 30-45 minutes. 

Interview questions are being developed from the community meetings that were held in November and will aim to be of particular interest to staff, students and parents, Smith said. 

Following the finalist interviews, the school board will meet on Thursday, Feb. 3, in executive session to make its choice for the district’s next superintendent. The board meets again on Feb. 9 when it aims to make the official appointment. 

The new superintendent would start working for the district on July 1 as current Superintendent Brigid Nease’s contract ends June 30. 

More detail on the search process is online on the school district’s website at huusd.org/superintendent-search.