The Wright City R-II School Board has narrowed its pool of superintendent candidates to three and anticipates having a finalist selected by the end of this month.
The trio has been chosen from …
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The Wright City R-II School Board has narrowed its pool of superintendent candidates to three and anticipates having a finalist selected by the end of this month.
The trio has been chosen from an original field of 18 applicants to replace outgoing Superintendent Dr. David Buck, who has served the role since 2015. He will be leaving for a similar position in the Lee’s Summit School District at the conclusion of the 2019-20 school year.
The remaining three finalists include one in-house candidate and two other administrators from around the state.
Current R-II Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Doug Smith is seeking promotion into the top leadership role during his 10th year in the district, also having served building administrative roles in the middle school and high school.
Also vying for the position are a pair of standing assistant superintendents, Dr. Mike LaChance of Ritenour, and Dr. Chris Berger from Waynesville. Berger was previously a head superintendent at a smaller district.
“All three of these guy have done their homework and were impressive,” said Board President Austin Jones. “They all earned their final spot. They came in with knowledge about the district of what we’re doing well and what can be improved upon.”
He said the board has been careful in considering candidates who buy into the district’s values and demonstrate the leadership to help move forward with five-year plan goals.
“They’re well-rounded individuals,” said Jones. “Academically they understood the MSIP (Missouri School Improvement Plan) process. There would be a learning curve when it comes to budget for all of them, because each has owned parts of a budget but not been responsible for it as a whole.”
According to Jones, the finalists will undergo a deciding round of interviews on Sunday, March 29.
The board is meeting on Wednesday evening to discuss matters related to COVID-19. Jones said a closed session will follow to decide upon a final round of interview questions.
“This will give us an opportunity to discuss what criteria we want to use to determine which of these three is our best candidate,” said Jones. “I feel good about each of the three and am excited about the quality of applicants we’ve had. We hope to be able to announce a new superintendent very soon.”
