Four vie for superintendent position

by Danny Wade

Humboldt City Schools may have a new superintendent as early as next month. During Thursday night’s school board meeting, board members received a packet, which mapped out the search process and included four candidates.

Over the past couple of months, the board voted to hire Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) to assist in the superintendent search. TSBA Assistant Executive Director Ben Torrez addressed the board last month and last week reported back to the school board with TSBA’s recommendation. TSBA’s recommendations for superintendent are Dr. Susan Compton, Dr. Janice Epperson, Dr. Myles Hebrard and Dr. Kimberly Osborne .

Thursday night, Torrez went over the timeline once again that was approved by the board last month. He said interviews should be scheduled in the next couple of weeks. In the packet, TSBA offered sample questions the board would ask each candidate. He suggested the board should determine which questions each board member should ask, and make this uniform for each candidate. Torrez said the board could add questions to the interview list but any additional questions would need to be submitted to TSBA. All candidates being interviewed will receive these questions in advance so they may prepare their answers.

According to the timeline, the board should make their decision by June 7 and make the announcement during the June 10 school board meeting.

Candidates recommended by TSBA were listed in the packets. Torrez went over each of the four recommendations with the board during the meeting and offered a snapshot of their experience. Each candidate’s full resume was included in the packets so board members to have their full background experience in education.

The four candidates are:

Dr. Susan Compton
Currently superintendent of Henry Hudson Tri-District in Highlands, N.J. for eight years; Superintendent of Russell Independent School in Flatwoods, Ky. for eight years; total experience – seven years in central office, five years as an assistant principal, 11 years as a teacher, two years as a principal.

Dr. Janice Epperson
Currently assistant superintendent of Waterbury High School in Waterbury, Conn. for three years; 19 years with Jackson-Madison County Schools as a teacher, principal and administrator; total experience – 12 years as a teacher, three years as an assistant principal, two years in central office, three years as assistant superintendent.

Dr. Myles Hebrard
Currently supervisor of special education for Oak Ridge Schools in Oak Ridge, Tenn. for six years; principal for Anderson County Schools in Clinton, Tenn. for seven years; total experience – six years as an administrator, seven years as principal, five year as a teacher.

Dr. Kimberly Osborne
Currently the coordinator of data assessment for Murfreesboro City Schools in Murfreesboro, Tenn. for three years; principal for Murfreesboro City Schools for two years; total experience – 10 years as a teacher, four years as an assistant principal, two years as principal, three years in administration.

Torrez explained the interview process that included a sample schedule and interview dates. The board can select which days to conduct interviews. The packet included a candidate reaction form for each board member to take their own notes during the interviews. Board members have the option to compare notes during the selection process.

For the final selection, TSBA recommends each board member write down their top two candidates and have the secretary read them out loud, along with the board member’s name. Torres suggested taking the top two names and focus on those to bring back for a second interview.