Posted: Jan. 5, 2010 |(0) Comments

Hales Corners — The Whitnall School Board hopes to announce finalists for the superintendent position within the next few weeks.

"The process is going very well," Board President Bill Osterndorf said. "We've had some very capable people who've expressed interest in the job."

General timeline

The district hopes to have a final selection by early February so that planning can begin soon for next year, Osterndorf said, noting the financial difficulties Whitnall will likely continue to face.

"Next year we expect another tough year," Osterndorf said. "The financial picture will not brighten a whole lot, so we'll be looking at ways to continue to provide a quality education within some very restrictive financial parameters."

The School Board met in closed sessions Monday and Tuesday to discuss applicants. The board cannot release information about the candidates under review because many are currently employed, board member T.J. Anderson said.

But the board will announce the finalists to the public, he said.

In-house effort

Anderson said he was also pleased with how the search process has gone and is happy the district has not had to use outside help along the way.

The School Board previously decided to budget about $5,000 for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to help in the search process. But the organization is paid on an hourly basis, and so far, the district has done the search all by itself, Anderson said.

"We're better off doing it the way we're doing than having someone else … giving us candidates," Anderson said.

Board members and district officials have worked over the course of the school year to find a replacement for Karen Petric, who announced she will retire at the end of June.

The School Board set up a series of focus group meetings last fall to solicit community input. Osterndorf said he expects residents will have a chance to meet the final few candidates and provide more comments to the board and district officials.