Manchester Comes Up Empty In Superintendent Search
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NORTH MANCHESTER - Manchester school board president Sally Krouse on Tuesday said candidate interviews did not result in filling the corporation's superintendent position.
The superintendent search now is stopped, she said.
The board was looking for the "perfect superintendent. But we didn't find it," she said.
Four candidates were interviewed, while two pulled out of the running beforehand, according to Krouse.
The board again will work with University Consulting Team, Krouse said. She isn't sure what the next step will be.
University Consulting Team is four professors from Purdue, Indiana State, Indiana and Ball State universities. Dr. Betty Poindexter of IU chairs the team.
The professors led focus groups in October to gather input on the desired characteristics of a superintendent. Focus groups included community members and school corporation staff and teachers.
"It's more important to have a match than someone in a position," said board member Brad Perrott.
With the position still open, the board approved an $11,000 stipend for acting superintendent Kim Thurston. It supplements Thurston's "extra work" for 2001-02 and 2002-03 school years, Krouse said.
Thurston has been acting superintendent since Connie S. Curry resigned the position in June 2001.
Thurston agreed to halt his inquiries into other superintendent positions for one year. His family lives in Crothersville and, he said, he is looking for positions nearer his family.
In another matter, all Manchester Community School Corp. schools' Strategic and Continuous School Improvement Plans were approved.
The three-year improvement plans include the required "written objectives for improving the attendance rate, the percentage of students meeting academic standards under ISTEP and the benchmarks for progress in all areas," said Manchester High School principal Nancy Alspaugh.
The high school laid out "student achievement objectives for improving the graduation rate," course offerings and "encouraging all students to earn the academic honors diploma," Alspaugh said.
The schools "developed a three-year timeline to implement, review and revise the student achievement goals," she said.
"Now the challenge begins," Perrott said.
Also, Manchester Junior High School principal Randy Gratz requested ISTEP remediation for current "on the bubble" seventh-graders.
Students "on the bubble to be retained" can take the summer course and become eligible for eighth grade, Gratz said.
Gratz expects about 40 students to attend.
In other business, the school board approved the elimination of one section of kindergarten. Spring Round Up numbers projected no growth. [[In-content Ad]]
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NORTH MANCHESTER - Manchester school board president Sally Krouse on Tuesday said candidate interviews did not result in filling the corporation's superintendent position.
The superintendent search now is stopped, she said.
The board was looking for the "perfect superintendent. But we didn't find it," she said.
Four candidates were interviewed, while two pulled out of the running beforehand, according to Krouse.
The board again will work with University Consulting Team, Krouse said. She isn't sure what the next step will be.
University Consulting Team is four professors from Purdue, Indiana State, Indiana and Ball State universities. Dr. Betty Poindexter of IU chairs the team.
The professors led focus groups in October to gather input on the desired characteristics of a superintendent. Focus groups included community members and school corporation staff and teachers.
"It's more important to have a match than someone in a position," said board member Brad Perrott.
With the position still open, the board approved an $11,000 stipend for acting superintendent Kim Thurston. It supplements Thurston's "extra work" for 2001-02 and 2002-03 school years, Krouse said.
Thurston has been acting superintendent since Connie S. Curry resigned the position in June 2001.
Thurston agreed to halt his inquiries into other superintendent positions for one year. His family lives in Crothersville and, he said, he is looking for positions nearer his family.
In another matter, all Manchester Community School Corp. schools' Strategic and Continuous School Improvement Plans were approved.
The three-year improvement plans include the required "written objectives for improving the attendance rate, the percentage of students meeting academic standards under ISTEP and the benchmarks for progress in all areas," said Manchester High School principal Nancy Alspaugh.
The high school laid out "student achievement objectives for improving the graduation rate," course offerings and "encouraging all students to earn the academic honors diploma," Alspaugh said.
The schools "developed a three-year timeline to implement, review and revise the student achievement goals," she said.
"Now the challenge begins," Perrott said.
Also, Manchester Junior High School principal Randy Gratz requested ISTEP remediation for current "on the bubble" seventh-graders.
Students "on the bubble to be retained" can take the summer course and become eligible for eighth grade, Gratz said.
Gratz expects about 40 students to attend.
In other business, the school board approved the elimination of one section of kindergarten. Spring Round Up numbers projected no growth. [[In-content Ad]]