LR5 to interview 3 candidates for superintendent. Some want more choices
Lexington-Richland 5 is interviewing selected candidates for the school district’s new permanent superintendent, even as some school board members expressed disappointment with the search process.
On Monday, the school board voted to go forward with interviewing three candidates for the district’s top job, without naming them.
The district said the board has five outstanding applicants for the superintendent’s job, and didn’t want to disclose the three who have been selected for interviews before they were notified. A district spokesperson said three finalists would be identified once initial interviews have been completed. State law requires public agencies to name at least three finalists for such a position.
At Monday’s school board meeting, one board member was uneasy with moving forward with only five applications for the job. Rebecca Blackburn Hines said the district may need to do a more extensive search.
“We haven’t done a proper search for the appropriate number of applicants within our state,” Hines said. “We received five applications because, in my opinion, of the timing of having to do this search.”
School district attorney Andrea White told the board applications were hampered primarily by the belief that Akil Ross, who was named the district’s interim superintendent in June, is seen as a strong candidate for the full time job.
“I had one sitting superintendent ask me about the job, but said they were not sure about it because Dr. Ross is highly respected, and that person didn’t apply,” White said.
One board member indicated she is ready to hire Ross full-time now.
“Anybody can Google his name and see his credentials. We’re not going to get any more candidates from South Carolina because we’ve got the best candidate here,” Nikki Gardner said. “We’re just trying to make sure he’s the best candidate, and I believe he is.”
Board chair Jan Hammond said that previous national searches for candidates using consulting firms have not always produced the best candidates for the job. “We’ve had some come down from out-of-state, and then we’re kind of different here,” Hammond said.
The board voted 5-2 to move forward with the candidate interviews, with Hines and Tifani Moore voting against.
Ross was named the district’s interim superintendent in June, after former superintendent Christina Melton, considered one of the best in the state, surprised many by announcing her resignation at the end of the 2020-21 school year.
One board member who resigned at the time criticized the board’s handling of Melton’s resignation, arguing some board members had forced out the popular superintendent, following clashes over the district’s handling of COVID restrictions.
Ross was previously named the national principal of the year during his time at Chapin High School. He also served in an administrative post in Lexington-Richland 5, and has since started his own education consulting firm. His contract with the school district currently treats Ross as an employee of the firm, even as he serves as superintendent.
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct why school district attorney Andrea White believes the Lexington-Richland 5 school district received five applications for its superintendent position. White told board members that she believes potential candidates were hesitant to apply because Interim Superintendent Akil Ross is considered by many to be a strong candidate for the job full-time.
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