MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The deadline for the public to provide input on the search for a new Sylacauga school superintendent has been extended to Sunday, Feb. 28.
The Alabama Association of School Boards, which is assisting the Sylacauga school board in the search, is urging parents, community residents and system employees to complete an online survey to help identify the challenges facing the school system and the skills and experience the next superintendent will need in order to address them. The survey had originally been slated to close Friday afternoon. However, the deadline is being extended to allow time for more people to respond.
The link to the survey is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Sylac21. All input is completely anonymous.
Today, the AASB held a day of input meetings for anyone who would prefer to give their input in person rather than online. Principals, system administrators, public officials, system employees, and the community were invited to the input meetings. Individuals were allowed to voice their opinion and concerns to help in the search for a new superintendent.
The survey and the meetings both asked participants:
- What skills and experience should the next superintendent have?
- Should the board look for an experienced superintendent?
- Should the superintendent be hired from within?
- What are the challenges facing the system?
The school system is sharing this information on its website and Facebook page. It also is emailing it to employees and will share it with the PTA leadership. But AASB and the Sylacauga Board of Education hope to get a broad cross section of the community to participate as well.
School board members will be asked not to attend the input meetings. AASB has found that when board members attend this type of meeting, attendees want to talk about current issues rather than the search. Instead, AASB will present the results of the survey and meetings at a public meeting or work session of the board in March.
