Wyo4News staff, [email protected]
January 25, 2024 — The Sweetwater County School District #1 School Board held a special meeting regarding the hiring process for the new superintendent on Thursday, Jan. 25.
Brian Farmer, the Executive Director for the Wyoming School Boards Association, was the main speaker at the meeting, and he explained to the board the various ways they could go about selecting and interviewing candidates for the new SWCSD #1 Superintendent.
Farmer has been in this role for ten years and has been involved in about 60 Superintendent transitions during that time. Farmer explained how they built a team to help SWCSD #1 select a qualified new Superintendent.
The team to which Farmer was referring consists of people who have run school districts, including Dr. Julie Kocourek, Director of Member Services, who has a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, Dr. Boyd Brown, Director of Member Engagement, who has been the Superintendent of the largest school district in the State of Wyoming and the smallest school district in the State of Wyoming, and Dr. Kevin Mitchel, Executive Director of the Wyoming Association of School Directors who has been a Superintendent in two Wyoming School Districts.
Together, the team has a lot of expertise in knowing what it takes to be a good Superintendent in Wyoming. Farmer stated that a good Superintendent is someone who understands all aspects of running a school district, such as:
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Facilities Management
- Personnel
- Budgets
- Grants
- Special Needs Students
- Food Services
- Transportation
The Sweetwater County School District #1 consists of Rock Springs, Wamsutter, Farson, and Eden, Wyoming. Farmer and his team have prepared a handbook to assist the SWCSD #1 School Board in the process of selecting and interviewing candidates for Superintendent. The team can assist the board by telling them what other communities in Wyoming have done, provide them with recommendations, and tell them what has and hasn’t worked in the past.
Farmer stated that the process of selecting a new Superintendent will involve stakeholder involvement. The team will narrow the number of candidates who are interested in the position down to six candidates based on what stakeholders, school administrators, faculty, staff, and members of the community say they want in a new Superintendent. Then, the board will narrow the number of candidates down to three.
Once the three candidates are selected, they will be brought to SWCSD #1 for an extensive three-day interview process. Farmer then discussed with the Board what that three-day interview process might look like. Farmer explained that the process is different for each school district because the needs are different.
The board then discussed different ways the interview process could go, such as:
- Whether each of the applicants will visit Farson and Wamsutter and the logistics of how that would happen.
- Whether students should be involved in the forums
- How Community Forums will be conducted
- Surveying the community at large about what they would like to see in a new Superintendent
- Administrator forums
- Possible days to do interviews on
- Whether the interviews will be separate or together
So far, the Board has agreed that they definitely want community involvement in hiring the new Superintendent. The board will meet on Feb. 6th to discuss candidates, and the interviews will probably take place between Feb. 13 and Feb. 22, depending upon the candidates.
If you would like to participate in a survey to help the Wyoming School Boards Association better understand what is working well and where we have opportunities to improve within Sweetwater County School District #1, please answer the questions in this survey Climate Survey for Community/Parents (google.com). Wyo4News will continue to cover this process and keep our readers informed.
