For the superintendent search, the Kosciusko School Board tapped several local leaders to help select the best candidate to take the helm of the school district come July 1.
Although each brought a different perspective to the task, all say they felt the weight of responsibility.
“There is a risk to us personally to be doing this,” said committee member Jonathan Powers. “The reason we chose to do this is we love the school system.”
Dr. Tim Alford agreed, and said the timing of the search made it important for committee members to step up.
“This is a pivotal time for the community. There is no reason for this district not to be the very best. We had to pick the best candidate for this district at this particular time,” he said. “Some (candidates) we knew very well, but it didn’t mean the person we loved the most got the job.”
Many said a key goal was to select someone who could unite the community both in and around the school system.
“All this will be for naught if we don’t come together as a community,” said Powers.
“We need a healer and we hope that that is what we chose,” said Mayor Jimmy Cockroft in agreement. “Everybody who lives or works here needs to support this school system. We want this to be the best – where you want to send your kids to school.”
As for the process itself, committee members said it was actually helpful that the school board provided them little more than the candidates’ names, current positions and phone numbers.
“The best thing they (the board) did was to not give us the background information,” said Dr. Chancey Fort, a counselor at KLE.
It allowed them to approach finding out about each individual without anything predisposing their opinions at the outset.
“We didn’t have to abide by the same rules as the school board. We were able to use our contacts to learn about them,” said Powers. “We were very open-minded looking for the right person. The schools have to be the best thing about Kosciusko.”
Beyond bringing the community together, the Committee members said they wanted to hire someone they were confident could get the Kosciusko School District back to an “A” rating.
Fort was able to look up data on the schools where the candidates currently work and provide that unfiltered information to the committee.
“We were able to find out the truth, that was not slanted at all,” said Powers.
Member Pat Bell said a key evaluation factor for her was demonstrated leadership skills.
“I am a co-educator of this district and I know the value of a strong leadership,” she said.
Parent Allison Tyler said that school culture mattered in addition to performance.
“I was looking to have a strong school system that is nothing but a positive experience for the students. In this day and time, you can find out a lot about a person online,” she said.
The process amounted to nearly a full 40-hour week.
“It was all we did that whole week,” said Mayor Jimmy Cockroft, referring to making reference calls and interviewing each of the candidates in person for at least an hour each.
During interviews Fort and Bell focused on curriculum and Fort also said she wanted a candidate that would be open with the community
“People just want to know what is going on,” she said.
Alford noted that another relations-related question was what role the individual would play in relation to the School Board.
“We asked them what is the role of the board and what is the role of the CEO – the Superintendent – of the district,” said Alford. “We were not shy about how we approached it. The challenges are many for the new superintendent.”
Immediately following the final candidate interview, the group took a vote to see where things stood before they had any further discussions.
To their surprise, they voted Billy Ellzey as their number one candidate unanimously.
“Number one on every single person’s vote – it was exactly the same,” said Powers. “We all came back to the same person. That was really neat.”
All agreed that Ellzey seemed like the candidate that could best capitalize on the good work already being done.
“We know we have good teachers and capable administrators, but they need the confidence and support of their chief,” said Alford.
“We support our leaders that we have internally,’ said Tyler, “but this is just going to add to that.”
While Ellzey clearly stood out to the group, garnering their unanimous recommendation to the School Board, Committee members noted that they had a high-level roster to choose from.
“That was eight very talented people that we went through,” said Cockroft.
