Sunday, Sep. 07, 2008

Deadline for schools chief looms

With Monday being the deadline for school superintendent applications, the Manatee County school district has received 19 résumés from all around the country.

"It's a tough job in tough times," said Margi Nanney, spokeswoman for Manatee schools. "It takes a person of certain caliber to apply."

So far, applicants ranging from Sarasota to Colorado, Palm Beach to Massachusetts, Ruskin to Ohio, have submitted their résumés. There's only one in-house application - assistant superintendent Tim McGonegal.

Most of them hold doctorate degrees and some have been superintendents for a long time, and some hold administrative positions with various school districts.

Some are consultants or university professors, and one is a maintenance and reliability superintendent for a phosphate mining company.

The district expects the majority of the applications to arrive by mid-Monday, and to receive between 30-40 applications.

Applicants familiar with Florida's open records law may apply at the very last minute. Once the application is received by the school district, it becomes a public record.

Nanney said the search had been going smoothly but said district officials anticipate a rush of applications as the deadline looms.

Once the applications are in, a community advisory group headed by former Superintendent Dan Nolan will recommend five potential candidates to the school board.

Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Board Association who has been hired as a consultant in the process, will also pick out five candidates for the board.

The board, on Sept. 24, will pick out the top five candidates.

Those candidates will be visiting and interviewed in Manatee between Oct. 13 and 17.

A new superintendent will be named by Oct. 24, and report to work by Nov. 10.

Outgoing Superintendent Roger Dearing has accepted a job to become the next executive director of the Florida High School Athletics Association. His last day in Manatee is Jan. 5. Ronald E. Bolandi, Whitehouse Station, N.J., superintendent of East Windsor Regional School District.

• Santarvis Brown, Miami Gardens, professor and department head at Johnson & Wales University.

• Nicholas M. Gledich, Ocoee, chief operations officer of Orange County schools.

• Luis Gonzalez, San Antonio, superintendent of Mathis Independent School District.

• Robert E. Green, Greencastle, Ind., superintendent of the Greencastle Community School Corporation.

• Henry J. Hastings, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., instructor of legal/ethical environment of business at Eastern Michigan University and an education consultant and policy adviser.

• James T. Leonard, Marblehead, Mass., a licensed clinical psychologist at the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and a consultant to public and private agencies. Former superintendent of Lynn Public Schools.

• Margarita "Maggie" Lopez, Colorado Springs, Colo., assistant superintendent for learning services at the Academy School District Twenty, Colorado Springs.

• Aaron K. Mackey, Mason, Ohio, superintendent of Princeton City School District.

• Brenda Magee, West Palm Beach, an assistant superintendent of Palm Beach County schools.

• Ken Marsh, Sarasota, director of long-range planning for Sarasota County schools.

• Tim McGonegal, Bradenton, assistant superintendent of Manatee County schools.

• S. Jayne Risen Morgenthal, Naples, education consultant and former assistant professor of educational administration at the University of Louisville, Ky.

• Darren K. Morrison, Ruskin, maintenance and reliability superintendent - plant wide and sulfuric acid, for the Mosaic Company in Riverview.

• Melindo A. Persi, Fort Lauderdale, former interim superintendent of the Brick Township Board of Education.

• John R. Phillips, Isle of Palms, S.C., university/school district partnerships director at Claflin University.

• Art Stellar, Taunton, Mass., superintendent of Taunton Public Schools.

• Cristina E. Treffner, Stamford, Conn., executive director of English Language Learners of Stamford Public Schools.

• Willie C. Watts, Jr., Akron, Ohio, former superintendent of Phoenix Village Academies, Greater Achievement, and the Academy of the Arts.

Nineteen have applied so far, but more are expected by Monday