School Board narrows list of candidates

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March 10, 2010

Possible litigation discussed in closed meeting

By Byron Wilkes / bwilkes@themeridianstar.com The Meridian Star The Meridian Star Wed Mar 10, 2010, 08:30 AM CST

MERIDIAN —     The Board of Trustees for the Meridian Public Schools announced Tuesday that it had narrowed down its list of interim superintendent candidates to three, but possibly with one more.

    As a torrential downpour fell outside, inside the Dr. L.O. Todd Board Room of the Central Administrative Building the board voted to hold three closed sessions to discuss items on its agenda, which included discussing interim superintendents, litigation in the case of Kim Massey vs. the Meridian Public School District and the termination hearing of recently fired superintendent Charlie Kent.

    "Last week we had a work session... with the executive director of the Mississippi School Boards Association, Dr. Mike Walter," said the board's vice president, Don Evans. "At that time he brought us a list of names of former superintendents who had retired in the state."

    Evans said that the board narrowed down the list of superintendents, and sent a shortened list back to Walter so that he could contact them and see who was available to take the interim superintendent position.

    "Those people who are available sent in resumes," Evans said. "Now we're going to contact those people.

    "We're going to bring them in and interview them and then put the best person in the position that we can for our interim as soon as we get to meet them."

    Evans also mentioned a fourth potential candidate, who he said was referred to the board by Tom Burnham, the state's superintendent of education. However, the board declined to identify any of the candidates.

    "We can't tell you who the people are on the list at this time," Evans said. "We will [identify them] after we contact them and get them into the interview."

    Also on the agenda of the hour-and-a-half meeting (fewer than 20 minutes of which was spent out of closed session) was pending litigation, such as Kent's termination hearing.

    Although Evans said that no action was taken during the closed session, the process of selecting a new, permanent superintendent can't take place until the former superintendent's hearing has taken place.

    "Mr. Kent has asked for a hearing, and that process cannot start for his replacement until the hearing process has been completed," said John Compton, the board's attorney.

    Compton said that Kent's hearing has been moved from the regularly scheduled board meeting this Thursday, to late April, a decision made after he met with Kent's attorney on Friday.

    The current dates for the hearing are April 20-23, and again from April 28-30, which Compton explained was to give ample time to conduct the hearing, though it may not take up all the days.

    During the closed session concerning former Oakland Heights Principal Massey's case against the district, Compton said the time was used for him to get the board up to date on the issue. Evans said of this meeting, "No action was taken at this time."

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