Nearly 700 community members have responded to an online survey and roughly 200 have participated in forums to help guide the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education in hiring the district’s next superintendent.
BOE President Beth Daugherty presented the numbers in an update Monday.
The online survey continues through September 26, Daugherty said.
The district has made slight changes to the remaining schedule of forums and has added another time slot: the October 6 date will combine elementary and middle school parents into one session, and the October 9 date will combine middle and high school parents. Both will be followed by open forums for the community at large.
(The current schedule can be found on the district website, along with the Outreach Plan. The schedule will soon reflect the updates.)
The board will meet with the search consultant on October 13 to discuss the district’s “leadership profile” that will be compiled as a result of community input and board discussion. The board will then begin actively recruiting for the position, Daugherty said.
Twenty five people have already applied for the position, she said.
On November 10, the board will decide which candidates to select for in-person interviews. Finalists will not be interviewed until after the board’s January reorganization meeting, which means the three new board members who will be elected in November will have a say in who will next take the helm of the South Orange-Maplewood School District.
