School board starts search for new superintendent

Carbon County School District No. 2 school board members anticipate having a new superintendent lined up before Bob Gates retires at the end of this school year.

“We anticipate that, in the spring, we will be offering a contract to a new superintendent who will resume the duties July 1,” said CCSD 2 Board of Trustees Chairman Greg Bartlett.

The CCSD 2 Board of Trustees unanimously voted Monday to consider using the Wyoming School Boards Association (WSBA) for the search of a new superintendent. The board will talk to a consultant, the executive director of WSBA Mark Higdon, 6 p.m. Nov. 11 at the central office to discuss the best way to find a new superintendent for the school district. The consultation with Higdon will mark the beginning of the search process, Bartlett said.

“We are going to start the process at the Nov. 11 meeting. At that point, I think the board will ask a lot of questions and I think a clearer schedule will come together at that point,” Bartlett said.

Using WSBA for the hiring process will cost the district about $6,000 from the general fund. The board saved some money by being a member of WSBA and conducting the first meeting via telephone, as opposed to a face-to-face meeting with Higdon. However, the $6,000 fee is still quite large, board member Tonya Bartholomew said, although cheaper than alternative search programs she investigated.

Bartlett agreed the amount was substantial, but a necessary cost to find the most qualified candidate.

“It is general fund dollars and our general fund is trying to recover from the loss of students, but the superintendent is a valuable entity and we need to do all that we can to track the most qualified candidates, and I think WSBA provides those types of candidates for us,” Bartlett said.

Using WSBA broadens the search for a new superintendent, but the search will still be advertised locally and will be open to all applicants, Bartlett said.

The CCSD 2 Board of Trustees is searching for a new superintendent after Gates announced his resignation in June. Bartlett said finding a new superintendent has nothing to do with adopting policy, and does not require a vote.

“This doesn’t regard any policy or anything,” Bartlett said. “As far as the search goes, we don’t have to actually vote on it, we just have to come into some agreement.”