SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah State Board of Education’s Superintendent Search Committee today continued the process of selecting a new superintendent of public instruction by inviting representatives from nearly 30 community groups to participate in interviewing several semi-finalists.
The committee then met privately to select four finalists, whose interviews will be scheduled for some time prior to the Board’s next meeting on Oct. 10. The decision was based heavily on the input from local stakeholders and personal reflections of State Board members.
Representatives from each stakeholder group interviewed the seven semi-finalists in a round-robin format Monday, asking a variety of planned and spontaneous questions. Each candidate was interviewed for more than two hours total and spent an hour lunch with interviewers, some members of the Utah State Board of Education, former Superintendent Martell Menlove and current interim Superintendent Joel Coleman.
Candidates were asked about their experience managing leadership teams, ideas for the State Office of Education, and vision and strategy in dealing with education and legislative issues, among other issues.
Menlove announced his retirement in March, shortly before the Board of Education began an intensive nationwide search process for a new superintendent. In August, the Board named Coleman as interim superintendent. Coleman, the superintendent for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, will remain in the temporary position until a permanent superintendent is in place.
The names of the seven semi-finalists will remain confidential. Each stakeholder representative was required to sign confidentiality agreements prior to the interview process. The State Board will release the names of the finalists closer to the day of the final interviews.
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Contact: Emilie Wheeler, communications specialist
Utah State Board of Education
