KC school district is done interviewing superintendent finalists

Kansas City Public Schools should have a new superintendent fairly soon.

The school board on Wednesday finished interviews and narrowed its selection to one to three candidates.

Board chairman Jon Hile said the board expects to announce the names of the finalists at its 6:30 p.m. Dec. 16 meeting. At the same time the public will get dates for when they can meet and talk with each of the candidates before a final selection is made, Hile said.

The board is ahead of schedule in the search process set in motion after Stephen Green left in May to take a job with an Atlanta area school district. Green had led the district for three years.

Hile on Wednesday praised how the district staff responded to Green’s departure and kept schools operating smoothly until the superintendent’s post is filled.

“They have done a yeoman’s job,” Hile said.

Al Tunis has served as interim superintendent.

Whoever is selected for the job would be paid an annual salary in the range of $210,000 to $250,000 and must have shown experience with a set of criteria, including leading urban children toward being high-achieving critical thinkers and “assessing existing realities before introducing changes in programs and initiatives,” according to information on the district’s website.

A list of 19 expectations were developed after a series of public sessions earlier this year to identify, as a profile, who would be the district’s best leader.

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 2:36 PM with the headline "KC school district is done interviewing superintendent finalists."