The search is on: Gardendale board hopes to hire first superintendent by July
Published 2:29 pm Wednesday, April 23, 2014
If all goes according to plan, the Gardendale School Board will have a superintendent in place in less than four months.
On Monday, the Gardendale Board of Education approved descriptions of the superintendent’s job position presented by the Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB), which is conducting the search.
The board also approved wording for the job posting. The job was posted Tuesday on the AASB website and the Gardendale Board of Education Facebook page.
The application deadline is May 27.
AASB will then present five or six candidates to the school board on June 5; board members are not involved in the search and will not know who the suggested candidates are until then.
The board will choose which applicants to interview for the position, then will interview the candidates in public meetings June 11-18.
Board members will announce their choice for superintendent on July 7, with him or her starting the job on Aug. 11.
The superintendent’s salary is $165,000 and is negotiable “based on experience and demonstrated success,” according to the school board.
The superintendent will be expected to live in Gardendale and to enroll his or her children in Gardendale schools, unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Community members can have their say about the new superintendent during meetings prior to the start of the AASB search. AASB staff will hold the meetings; school board members will not be present.
Community meetings will be held May 5 at the Gardendale Civic Center’s Magnolia Suite:
• 10:45-11:45 a.m., parents and community
• 1:45-2:45 p.m., public officials and business leaders
• 4:15-5:15 p.m., school administrators and certified staff
• 5:30-6:30 p.m., school support staff
• 6:45-7:45 p.m., parents and community
In addition, AASB is hosting an online community survey to determine the skill, traits and other attributes that residents want to see in a new superintendent. The survey is available on the school board’s Facebook page and at www.cityofgardendale.com until May 8.
Gardendale City School board members and advisory board members will have a booth at the Gardendale Magnolia Festival on Saturday; they invite the public to stop by to meet them and ask questions.
