Christian County school board members selected a consultant for the superintendent search at Thursday night’s meeting.
The search is being conducted after Superintendent Mary Ann Gemmill announced at the November school board meeting that she is retiring at the end of this school year.
Director of Business Jessica Darnell advised board members she had contacted various companies who provide services to educational agencies with regards to the search and selection of a superintendent. She received responses from five companies, including two based in Kentucky.
Board attorney Jack Lackey said there is a process statutorily described that KSBA and KASA, or Kentucky Association School Administrators, are familiar with and their respective fees are more affordable. He said in the past they have used KSBA for the superintendent search.
He says both KSBA and KASA do national advertising as part of their consulting, screening, and reference checks as well as working with the screening committee.
Lackey added both companies would probably cost around $7,000.
After a discussion about the two companies, board member Tom Bell made a motion to hire KSBA, but the motion failed without a second. Board chair Linda Keller then made a motion to hire KASA, which was approved by a vote of 4-1 with Bell casting the nay vote.
In other business, the board discussed the board’s meetings and workshops calendar for next year. Board member Lindsey Clark questioned why they are going back to holding two meetings a month. Some board members expressed they didn’t feel as if they were as well informed at the regular meetings without a workshop and prior discussions of the items the agenda. The board approved the calendar by a 4-1 vote with Clark casting the nay vote.
There will not be a workshop in January and the next regular school board meeting will be Thursday evening, January 16, 2020, at 6:00 in the Board Room at the Central Office on Glass Avenue.
