By Charles Prince

The North Jefferson News



Gardendale High School principal Dr. Anna Vacca began conducting interviews for the vacant head football coaching job this week, and those interviews could likely wrap up as early as next week.

“There have been five or six so far and I’m expecting there to be one or two more next week,” Vacca said. “There were two more individuals I wanted to talk with, but we haven’t been able to get in touch with them yet. Hopefully, they can be interviewed next week.”

The Jefferson County School Board is setting up the interviews and all the meetings have taken place at the school board’s offices.

Vacca said she looked for specific criteria to determine which of the 40 applicants she wanted to discuss the job with.

“We wanted someone who had experience similar to what we’re looking for here,” Vacca said. “We looked at their background, their experience and the stability they brought to their programs.”

Should Vacca get to interview the final candidates next week, she could be ready to recommend Keith Luker’s successor by the end of next week.

The recommendation could then be presented for approval at the next meeting of the school board, which is scheduled on Feb. 28.