The Warren County R-III School Board continued its search for a new superintendent during its monthly meeting July 13.As part of the process, the board welcomed Brent Underwood, a representative from the Missouri School Board Association, who specializes in superintendent searches.One option would be for the board to hire Underwood’s services, which would cost 8 percent of the salary the board determines to pay its new superintendent.“It would be a working partnership between him (Underwood) and the board,” said Board President John Clinger, who notes there are many decisions to be made over the next six months.“He has the expertise, knowledge and networking, and he knows most people in the area, which would be beneficial,” Clinger said. “It could save us a lot of time in the checking-up process.”The district intends to have a candidate to consider for board approval by its January 2018 meeting.“We would want to have the decision made by second semester of this school year,” said Clinger.He noted the board has received criticism for the compensation paid to former Superintendent Dr. Jim Chandler, whose salary was $185,220 during the 2016-17 school year. The salary for the new superintendent will be one of the topics of discussion during the board’s retreat on July 26.The board will meet with administrators for part of that workshop session to discuss the superintendent search.“We will settle on what we feel is a decent salary to attract well-qualified candidates to a school of our size,” said Clinger. “It won’t be at the same level as the previous (superintendent).”Clinger says the board has a few objectives regarding the search to be more transparent with the district residents.“For instance, since we’re planning to engage the community, the MSBA would be very helpful in helping us set up focus groups and surveying community to find out their values and viewpoints of what to look for in a superintendent,” said Clinger.Warren County R-III School District