School District to Postpone Kenwood Principal Selection, Seek Interim Candidate

The Clawson School District will hire an interim principal for and continue the search for a permanent principal, Superintendent Cheryl Rogers announced Friday afternoon in press release.

“It is essential that Kenwood Elementary have an experienced principal of highest quality, and we had some wonderful candidates," Rogers said in the release. "When the selection was narrowed to the top five, it became a matter of finding the individual best fit for the school, and the interviews showed that we needed to continue our search.”

Rogers said the district received 35 applications for the position since it was posted June 18. The district then narrowed it down to nine experience candidates, and two internal before the completing in-depth interviews with the top five.

“Although the candidates’ qualifications were impressive, we recognize the right fit for Kenwood Elementary School is the key factor in selecting a principal," Roger said.

The district hopes to hold interviews and present a candidate for interim principal at an Aug. 8 board meeting.

Rogers said the district will repost the the Kenwood principal position in the spring "to encourage a larger pool of candidates, to find the experienced individual that meets our wants and needs.”

A Principal Interview Advisory Committee will help in the selection of the interim principal, the press release said.

The selection of a Kenwood principal among many parents in June when to appoint Principal Patricia Pell to lead both Schalm and Kenwood and hired Suzanne Kropfreiter as the assistant principal of both schools.

The previous Kenwood principal, Virginia Mantela, retired this year. Disgruntled parents said Rogers' decision was unethical because she didn't initially post the job opening at Kenwood or consider parent input.

Rogers after Pell declined the position and posted it for the public.