LAKEPORT, Calif. – The search for a new Lakeport Unified School District superintendent is moving ahead on schedule, according to an update from the board president.
At its March 16 meeting, the Lakeport Unified School District Board voted unanimously to launch a condensed, confidential hiring process for a new head for the district, which has enrollment of about 1,500 students.
That decision resulted from the anticipation of Calistoga Joint Unified School District making an offer to Lakeport Unified Superintendent Erin Smith-Hagberg, as Lake County News has reported.
The day after the meeting, Calistoga Joint Unified released a statement formally acknowledging that Smith-Hagberg had been selected to lead the district.
The board chose to move rapidly due to Smith-Hagberg being to leave the district June 30, at the end of her contract.
In a letter to the community the district released on Monday, Board President Dennis Darling said the hiring process has moved according to the short schedule the board had laid out, and he anticipated a contract with the new candidate to be on the May 11 board agenda.
“We are very pleased with the process, the quality of the candidates who applied, and especially with
who we have selected to fill the position,” he said, adding that he believes the community also will be pleased.
The application deadline was April 21. Darling said the district received applications from 15 individuals coming from areas ranging from Seattle to San Diego.
Darling said those applications were screened by professionals using criteria that had been submitted by community members during public meetings that began in March. The screeners gave input to the board that it considered at a special meeting on April 24.
From the 15 applications, the board identified seven “very strong candidates” and invited six of them to interviews on April 27, with three of the candidates invited back for more intensive, final interviews the following day, Darling said.
“The three finalists were very strong and any one of the three could serve as our superintendent,” Darling said. “After significant deliberation and discussion, our board identified one final candidate to move forward in the process.”
However, Darling said the candidate won’t be named publicly until several more steps are completed, including the checking of 15 references, contract negotiation and a professional background check.
The district is being assisted in the recruitment process by Dr. Scott Mahoney, a Windsor-based educational hiring consultant with a background working in Lake County. Mahoney also led the recruitment that resulted in Smith-Hagberg being hired in Calistoga.
If all goes well, Darling said the board hopes to be able to announce the name of the new district superintendent by the end of the week, with contract approval at the May 11 board meeting.
Once the hiring is official, Darling said the new superintendent will spend three days in the district prior to the end of the school year to meet staff, and will spend time working and transitioning with Smith-Hagberg.
Darling said the new superintendent will officially start on July 1.
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Lakeport Unified in final stages of selecting new superintendent
- Elizabeth Larson
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