Escambia County School District’s School Board will invite four candidates to interview for ECSD Superintendent position
WKRG Staff | August 19, 2020
Unedited press release from the Escambia County School Board:
At the Aug. 18 Regular Meeting of the Escambia County School Board, the Board members approved four of the five semi-finalists to visit Pensacola next week to interview for the Superintendent’s position.
The finalists will be:
Dr. Earl Johnson – Currently the Executive Director of Leadership and Operations, Flagler Schools, Palm Coast, Florida
Keith Rittel – Currently the Superintendent, Provo City School District, Provo, Utah
Dr. Timothy Smith – Currently the Executive Area Director, High School Office, Orange County Public Schools, Orlando, Florida
Keith Leonard – Currently the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, Escambia County School District, Pensacola, Florida
“The finalists who accept our invitation will arrive in Pensacola on August 26th to participate in interviews on August 27th and 28th.,” said School Board Chair Patty Hightower. “After reading their applications and supplemental information, these are the individuals wewanted to hear from in person. It has also been exciting to see the community’s participation in this whole process from participating in the forums, taking the survey, and reviewing the applicants’ materials.”
“It is time to bring some of them here, so we can meet them in person and get a feel for who will be the best fit,” said Chair Hightower.
The schedule for the Board interviews and each finalist’s time for the “Meet and Greet” will be posted on the Superintendent Search page, http://ecsd-fl.schoolloop.com/superintendentsearch. This information will also be available on the Facebook page, Escambia Schools Public Relations.
Next steps in the Superintendent Selection Process:
· August 27: Interviews will be available for viewing online on the Escambia County School Board’s Meeting Information page (use the link to the Live Feed) as well as on the District’s Youtube channel and on Facebook on the page Escambia Schools Public Relations.
· August 27: During the Board interviews on Thursday, members of the community may submit questions for a virtual finalists’ “Meet and Greet” by visiting the District’s homepage and submitting via the provided link. (This replaces the earlier plan for a community “Meet and Greet” reception.)
· August 27, 6:00 p.m.: The virtual finalists’ “Meet and Greet” interviews will be available for viewing, LIVE, on the same viewing resources as the daytime interviews beginning at 6:00 p.m.
· August 28: Finalists will individually meet one-on-one, with each member of the school board.
· Sept. 1: School Board members will select the new Escambia County School Superintendent.
· Nov. 17: After a period of time for contract negotiations and transition with Superintendent Malcolm Thomas, the new Superintendent’s start date will be Nov. 17, 2020.
