The search for a new superintendent should be considerably narrowed Wednesday, as the Newberg School District board of directors plans to announce finalists for the position.

The board received 21 résumés, which were screened by a 17-member committee and winnowed to a list of candidates who were invited for interviews Saturday and Tuesday night. Board chairwoman Melinda VanBossuyt said that the directors conducted interviews from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. As of Monday afternoon, she still did not know how many candidates would be considered finalists.

She said she expected to stay on track with a hiring calendar that calls for site visits by a team of directors during the week of April 23. The purpose of the visits is for directors to interview managers, colleagues and subordinates of candidates in order to develop a more comprehensive picture of who they are.

After those visits the finalists will be invited for a site visit in Newberg April 27 and a second round of interviews the morning of April 28, VanBossuyt said. Following the second interviews, the district will enter in contract negotiations with the top candidate, with plans to announce the winner May 8 after both sides ink a deal.

While the district has a strict hiring plan, VanBossuyt said that it is subject to change, as the directors could decide that none of the candidates are a good fit or the candidate they want to hire could accept a position somewhere else before Newberg makes its offer. “It’s a moving target,” she said. “Things are changing all the time. We’re flexible; we’ll get through it.”

Superintendent Paula Radich announced her intention to retire in January after more than 30 years in education and 13 years in Newberg. Her last day in office will be June 30.

The position was advertised nationally and, according to Oregon School Boards Association executive search consultant Donna Herren, a dozen of the 21 applications received by the district were from out of state. This is a somewhat more than usual, as Herren normally receives about 30 percent of her applications from outside Oregon. She previously told The Newberg Graphic she could not identify any particular reason for the number of out-of -state application, but said that Newberg is “a good size and a good district, in good financial shape for where we are in these times.”
The screening committee, made up of members of the community and school district staff, ranked the applications according to a list of criteria drawn by the directors, and their notes will remain on file at the district office for the next three years.
By: Laurent Bonczijk the Newberg Graphic