Superintendent list to shrink this week

After four closed sessions last week and interviews with six candidates, the Cape Girardeau School Board is several steps closer to selecting a new leader for the school district.

President Charlie Haubold said the school board has interviewed four candidates from Missouri and two from out of state.

The board will meet Thursday to finalize some issues, and Haubold said he will release the names of finalists on Friday.

The superintendent search began in August after the board voted against renewing current superintendent Mark Bowles' contract. The contract expires in June.

The school board hired the Missouri School Boards' Association in September to conduct the search at a cost of up to $15,000 and later raised the superintendent's salary range from the current $100,000 to $110,000. Now it is $125,000 to $140,000.

Two groups of teachers -- Central High School staff and the local chapter of the National Education Association -- issued concerns about the salary increase at the board's November meeting.

Board members say the increase was done after a recommendation from Missouri School Boards' Association and was necessary to attract a qualified candidate for the position.

As part of the search, the association performed a needs assessment of the district and pre-interviewed all candidates who applied. From those, the association recommended a group of finalists for the school board to interview.

Board vice president Sharon Mueller said all of the candidates interviewed have been well-qualified. Mueller said board members are discreetly visiting the cities where the finalists live and asking members of those communities about each candidate.

"Everybody looks good on paper," Mueller said. "We want to know what the average man on the street thinks of this person."

The board originally said it planned to have a group of finalists selected by the end of November and a new superintendent hired by the end of December.

The new superintendent will officially take office July 1.

cclark@semissourian.com

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