There were not many surprises Thursday night when Gardendale Board of Education members learned what the community is looking for in a first-ever Gardendale City Schools superintendent.

In many cases, the suggestions were exactly what the board members had put onto paper, themselves.

The board is using the Superintendent Finder arm of the Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB) to screen superintendent applicants. Gardendale schools are working toward breaking away from the Jefferson County School System.

AASB representative Dr. Kendy Behrends is heading up Gardendale’s search. She will present a list of five finalists to the Gardendale Board of Education on June 5 in a public meeting. The board will then choose who it will hire.

Behrends has been gathering input from school employees and faculty, business and political leaders, and the general public about the qualities they want to see in the new superintendent.

An online community survey was open April 21-May 8, and Behrends held five open meetings at the Gardendale Civic Center on May 5.

Participation in the online survey was much higher than in the meetings. The survey had 255 participants, compared to 31 people who attended the meetings.

Behrends said the low attendance at the meetings was fairly typical, adding that people who take the survey online usually do not feel a need to give their input a second time in a group setting.

At Thursday’s meeting, she presented the findings to the board. The board members noted numerous times that the community’s criteria for a superintendent are directly in line with their own ideas.

“We are extremely encouraged that many of the findings that Dr. Behrends discovered were consistent with the job posting that we created,” said board member Dr. Michael Hogue. “It’s very affirming that our community is on the same page and that we’re moving in the same direction.”

The top criteria in the survey results were for the superintendent to have successful experience in ensuring student safety and discipline, and demonstrated effective communication ability.

“Communication just runs throughout this,” Behrends said, more so than at other school districts. She said it is because Gardendale is starting a new school system, where communication with the public is crucial.

Survey participants also called for the best superintendent candidate to have demonstrated success in managing a school system of equal or larger size, and to have classroom instructional or school administrative experience.

More people who took the survey want the superintendent to have a master’s degree than those who want him or her to have a doctorate.

When asked the most important issues or challenges for the superintendent, more than half of the survey participants said negotiating the separation from Jefferson County or managing finances for present and future needs.

To see the full survey results, visit the city of Gardendale’s website.

Community members are encouraged to attend when the board interviews candidates during public meetings June 11-18. Behrends said the public provides another level of screening that can assist board members when they make the final selection, which will be announced in early July.