Bellevue School Board Calls Seattle's Enfield "Strong Candidate"

Bellevue School Board members decided to signal interest in interim Seattle Superintendent Susan Enfield, by telling her she would be a "strong candidate" and that they will consider starting the interview process with her after a series of community meetings about the search next week.

Board president Paul Mills said that Enfield has indicated that she is interested in the Bellevue job, which opened when Bellevue Superintendent last month. in California since December.

Some on the board are familiar with Enfield already -- she was one of the finalists when the board hired Cudeiro in 2009 after a year and a half under an interim superintendent. 

The carefully worded statement proposed by board members Steve McConnell and Christine Chew stated that the board would authorize Mills to tell Enfield that school board considers her a "strong candidate" for the position, and it would consider starting the interview process with her after next week's public forums on the superintendent search.

Though the board unanimously approved the motion, with board member Mike Murphy absent, board members McConnell and Chew expressed concerns that too early of an interest in Enfield at this point would damage a search for Cudeiro's replacement and nullify the public forums planned for next week. Several others have applied for the position.

"I'm not going to get behind anything that will water down our already abbreviated process," McConnell said.

"I have some desires about how we make sure that our public process in Bellevue is fair to our community," Chew said.

Board member Chris Marks said that the motion was simply a way to keep Enfield in the running for Bellevue, because she is currently being interviewed for the top job in other school districts.

"I'm just saying that we are saying we want to evaluate her now, and see where it takes us," Marks said.

Enfield's name surfaced last week in the Seattle Times as a possible candidate for Cudeiro's vacated position, though Enfield did not confirm or deny her interest for the Times article. 

Board members say if even the district decides to accelerate the interview process with Enfield, that doesn't mean that other candidates have been ruled out.

Several other candidates have applied for Cudeiro's position, which has been advertised in EdWeek and other national publications, said Mills.

The board will continue to hold its next  and hopes to add a third -- a meeting with the school district's Parent Action and Advisory Council, which has inroads with minority communities in the district.

The board hopes the meets center around the public telling the board about its priorities in the superintendent search, Mills said. The board also .

Bellevue Superintendent , after being on leave since mid-December to take care of her mother, who is ill with cancer and has suffered a stroke. 

Eva Collins, assistant superintendent of Instructional Services and School Support, has been serving as the district's Interim Superintendent. Collins told people gathered at a that she is not interested in replacing Cudeiro permanently, saying that it wouldn't fit into her life at this time.

Some board members at a meeting on Wednesday expressed a desire to avoid a long hiring process, though others said that they do not want to feel pressured into a rushing into a superintendent hire. 

Giving input

Three Public Input Sessions will be held to encourage two-way conversations with the board about the superintendent search. Community members are invited to attend one or more of these sessions:

• Tuesday, Feb. 14, at Wilburton Center Board Room, 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 16, at Sammamish High School Performing Arts Center, 6:30 p.m.

The board also is considering meeting with the Bellevue Parent Action and Advisory Council which meets Wednesday at Highland Middle School on Wednesday.

The board of directors also will take information via email. Email correspondence should include "Supt Search-(today’s date)" in the subject line of the email so board members can quickly access comments about the search. Board emails should be sent to board@bsd405.org.