MUSD Superintendent search narrows

The Mammoth Unified School District’s Board of Education announced earlier this week that its members have concluded an important step in the process of searching for the next educational leader for the District’s 1,137 students, teachers, staff and parents. On April 24 the Board held a closed session with its consultants, Rich Thome and Jim Brown of Leadership Associates, to review the files of all the applicants including those recruited by Leadership Associates to see which ones were the best matches to the candidate profile developed with assistance from staff and community.

Of the 17 candidates who applied, with Thome’s assistance the Board narrowed that list to seven “high-quality” applicants for interviews. The candidates are from all over California, and outside the state as well. The first round of interviews will take place in closed session on Friday, May 21, and continue through Saturday, May 22, when a finalist will be identified. There will be a visit to the finalist’s community before a contract is offered.

Previous to the selection of the seven candidates, Thome and Brown spent an entire day gathering input from all of the District’s various stakeholder groups, as well as parents, citizens and civic leaders, and prepared a summary of what the Mammoth community wants in its next superintendent.

The Board said it has every confidence that such a leader will emerge from the strong pool of candidates who have applied. “By July 1, and perhaps before, the District will have its new leadership,” said the District via a press statement. “Our appreciation goes out to all those who offered their thoughts and suggestions for the profile. They were a huge help to us.”