Time to hire
Posted on May 2nd, 2008 in On the Go
Today we interviewed for the vice-principalship of our high school in Creston. A panel of 9 did the interviews and came to a decision after much careful consideration. We interviewed good candidates. So that took about 6 hours and with a couple of early morning meetings on top, made up the whole day.
Hey, it’s the weekend:)
July 25th, 2008 7:33 pm
Waht are your thoughths of successorship in school administration? What format is your interview process based on? Of interest for you will be Jamestown Public Schools, Jamestown, NY where the school board appointed a superintendent behind closed doors. The school board and the incumbent were fully supportive of this move.
July 28th, 2008 9:27 am
I think each district needs to look at its own situation. Quite often there is board policy on hiring of exempt staff. In our district there is policy on hiring principals and vice-principals but none on Board Office staff. You can see our policy on the hiring at http://www.sd8.bc.ca/Policy/540HiringPlacementPrincipalsVP.pdf
We have similar processes for board office staff although they are unwritten. Partner groups are involved in short listing and interviewing with the Board soliciting input and then making a decision.
This is actually my last year as superintendent and the Board has replaced me through an internal appointment. In making that decision, the Board reviewed a number of factors including its needs, the shortage of qualified candidates in British Columbia at present, the fact that three senior staff were retiring in the same year, etc. Before the public announcement, the Board met with the partner groups and explained what is was doing and the reasons. The partners understood the Board’s thinking and the Board made a public announcement the next day. The Board had used a full process for the other senior management positions.
I can’t speak to the specific situation you describe but I can certainly understand that there are some times when a Board has to fullfill its responsibilities. The Board does have a mandate. The Board’s record of using proper process and being transparent in its thinking are what distinguishes effective Boards from ineffective ones.