City schools
begin search for new boss

By FULLER ROYAL
Staff Writer

The Whiteville City Schools Board of Education voted during a called Tuesday night meeting to contract with the North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA) to assist in its search for a new superintendent.

The board is seeking a replacement for Danny McPherson, who is retiring June 30. The new superintendent will begin duties officially July 1, although board members hope that a candidate can be found before then and begin in a consulting role.

NCSBA Executive Director Ed Dunlap spoke for one hour with the school board last week during its Friday planning session, offering advice on the best way to conduct a superintendent search.

Only board member Dave Flowers has served on the board during such a search.

The price for NCSBA’s assistance is $6,500, no matter how long the search takes.

Dunlap told board members that by using the NCSBA’s services, more applicants will likely apply for the position because NCSBA goes to great lengths to ensure that the applicants’ current school boards don’t find out their superintendents are looking for new positions.

“This is the most important decision you will make this year,” Dunlap said.

The Whiteville board will also have the resources of NCSBA legal counsel Allison Schafer and her staff to assist with the application and interview processes.

Dunlap told the board that if there is an “heir apparent” within the city system to “go on and hire that person.

If you know who you’re going to hire then go ahead and do it,” Dunlap said. “Let them go about their job if they have the votes. The worst thing you can do is have a fake search.”

He said to go through the motions of soliciting applications and interviewing potential candidates when the board already knows it is going to hire someone from within its own ranks does a disservice to the applicants as well as the school district.

Dunlap said it will make it more difficult to attract good candidates the next time and it would send a message to the residents of the district that the board is playing games.

Dunlap said the three things the board needs to accomplish are: a transfer of authority that is smooth; a search that ensures a pool of candidates; and the board remaining in charge of the process.

“There are individuals and groups who would like to tell you who to hire,” he said. “Don’t have a search committee. That’s your job. There are other ways to hear what the public school family has to say.”

Dunlap stressed the importance of a time line for applications and interviews. He said that the board should have its questions prepared ahead of time and that each candidates should be asked the same questions, otherwise it would become a beauty contest because each board member would be looking at different things with each candidate.

He also said that its a good idea for each board member to ask questions so the superintendent candidate won’t think there’s just one board member he will have to answer to and please in the future.

Dunlap said that five other North Carolina systems are looking for superintendents.