Final interviews set for Coldwater Schools superintendent

COLDWATER — After two nights of hearing from four superintendent candidates, the Coldwater Community School board invited Paul Flynn, superintendent in Sandusky, and Jeff Terpenning, now superintendent at Capac, for final interviews on March 16.

Flynn received the votes of a majority of board members.

Dr. William Stitt, superintendent in Fremont, Indiana, was the second choice until board members raised questions about him moving to the district.

Michigan Leadership Institute regional vice president Dave Killips told the board Stitt indicated he would live in Fremont — adjacent to the district where he is a member of the town council.

The board, in the after-interview public discussions, then shifted to Terpenning.

The board wanted two candidates rather than a single finalist since Flynn is also the top candidate at Fowlerville, in Livingston County, where final interviews were held this week.

More: Fowlerville superintendent search narrows to two candidates, final decision within weeks

One board member found Terpenning “abrasive,” but others lauded his background before he went into education.

From the thumb region, he intended to be a farmer but worked in private business and as a DNR conservation officer in St. Joseph County while getting a master’s degree from Western Michigan University.

A Centreville social studies teacher and football coach beginning in 2004, was the principal at Hillsdale from 2012 to 2017.  Terpenning said his first day on the job saw numerous student fights.

Flynn became the Sandusky, Michigan, superintendent after he was a Yale school teacher and then principal before moving into the top job in that district. His goal was to be principal until his youngest daughter walked across the stage for graduation in 2017, after which he became superintendent.

From Hillsdale County, Flynn said he wanted to move closer to the area and closer to the daughter, now in law school in Indianapolis.

Terpenning also wants to move to this area for his family. He said his wife, from Northwest Ohio, wants to be closer to her children and grandchildren. He said Coldwater fit the type of school system he wanted to lead.

Flynn said the most immediate problem for all school systems is the teacher shortage.

After three years of more school funds because of COVID-19, "that money is drying up, what are we going to do and how are we going to be able to sustain the programs and the technology and the other things that we planned on and put in place?"

"Because we didn't account for that" to sustain programs, "you really have to use that data to work with the board and to work with the business office to figure out the best plans for the future," Flynn said.

Chairman Dr. Ed Lake told Flynn the school system educates the top 20% of the students. He would like a new superintendent to close the education gap between the top and the rest of the students.

"It appears that our test scores in this community are low. But we have compounding factors of our student population," which is highly diversified.

Flynn said he applied because “the size of this district, the reputation of this district and the location of this district” checked all his boxes.

Terpenning said his small school district was diversified with a third migrant farm labor.

The board also agreed with Dr. Lake.

“We have a high school, but it's in terrible repair. And we had bonded, and it did not pass. Someday we’ve got to fix that.”

All candidates were asked about their experience with bond issues after two failed votes in Coldwater, the last by 220 votes.

Flynn’s experience with bonding is a two-year program to pass a sinking fund bond issue for Sandusky.

Terpenning said his district favored bonding when brought before them.

More: Coldwater schools superintendent search down to four

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Stitt has a bond issue on the May 2 ballot in Steuben County. He went into detail about how the schools are presenting it to that community.

Both candidates will spend next Thursday visiting all Coldwater school facilities accompanied by a board member. At the final presentation, each will lay out a proposed first 90-day plan after taking over for retiring superintendent Terry Whelan on July 1.

— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DReidTDR.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Final interviews set for Coldwater Schools superintendent next Thursday