School Board Wants to Hear From You—Again

Newark residents and other community members will have a second chance Tuesday to speak their minds about their ideal school district superintendent.

The Board of Education will hold its second public forum on the issue  at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the district office, 5715 Musick Ave. Community members are encouraged to attend and tell board members what qualities they want the district's next superintendent to have.

Following the forum, at their regular 7 p.m. meeting, board members will discuss a timeline for selecting the new district chief. Newark Unified Superintendent Kevin Harrigan announced his resignation in mid-April. It becomes effective June 30.

At the first forum May 12, educators, employees and parents a superintendent who lives in Newark and can build relationships with all of the district's constituents.

Board President Charlie Mensinger said community members have also communicated their ideas to board members through phone calls and emails. The board is also setting up a system where people may leave comments anonymously.

"So far they want somebody who lives in the district and is a people person. They want someone with the people skills of (former superintendent) Jerry Trout," Mensinger said.

The board last searched for a superintendent about three years ago, ultimately hiring Harrigan in 2008.

Before making a decision then, Mensinger said, the board considered internal candidates, including Harrigan. The board then widened the search with the help of consultant firm Leadership Associates. 

This time around, the board plans to use search criteria developed by the consultants in 2008 as a starting point.

Mensinger said the current search process started a bit out of order, referring to the board's closed session May 6 at a private home, where board members talked with some potential candidates. During the public portion of that meeting, community members .