The Greene County School Board recently heard feedback from an initial community input meeting in their search for a new superintendent.

Representatives from consulting firm McPhearson and Jacobson said 69 people attended the Wednesday, February 16th meeting at the middle school auditorium. Of those that participated, there were school district teachers, administrators, support staff, students and 20 community members. 

The participants were asked several questions, including the strengths and assets of the district, characteristics of a superintendent and issues for the new superintendent to be aware of. Some of the characteristics that were shared included someone who is open, honest and transparent, a “people developer” as a mentor to mold into leaders and teachers, someone who has thick skin and a strong decision maker. Some of the issues that were discussed included the sharing agreement with Paton-Churdan and understanding social media impacts on the district.

Dennis Bahr with McPhearson and Jacobson reassured the Board that this was a successful community meeting.

“There were no serious issues that people were concerned about. They would say, ‘You’ve gotta take care of this.’ There was nothing like that. They knew what they were talking about. There was no, ‘Well I’ll bring this issue up now because I just thought about it.’ Uh-uh. They were well prepared for what they were doing. I’m talking the community group now, best prepared I’ve ever dealt with.”

It was also mentioned last Wednesday that there were eight applicants for the position. The next steps include the application deadline of March 2nd, candidates will be reviewed and finalists selected on March 23rd. The finalists will then be formally interviewed from April 4th-8th. The process is due to the current Superintendent Tim Christensen resigning at the end of this school year.