Former Des Moines superintendent among 6 finalists to lead Ohio's largest school district
Former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Tom Ahart is among six semifinalists to lead Columbus City Schools, Ohio's largest district.
Ahart resigned from DMPS in February 2022 after confrontations with conservative Republican politicians, including Gov. Kim Reynolds.
He defied the state during the coronavirus pandemic by keeping students home and classes online for the first two weeks of the 2020-21 school year when at the time, the state required offering in-person learning for at least 50% of students.
An Iowa administrative law judge said he had violated his ethical duty by keeping kids out of school that fall, and he later received a reprimand from the Board of Educational Examiners.
DMPS is in the middle of a superintendent search for his replacement. The Des Moines School Board has said it won't announce the finalist until it concludes its months-long search process this spring — out of the public's sight.
Associate Superintendent Matt Smith has said he won't seek the job.
The Columbus district is searching for a new school chief executive after Superintendent Talisa Dixon announced in December that she would be retiring at the end of the current academic year.
'That's not honest:' Columbus City schools won't say who applied for superintendent at town hall
At a town hall last week, members of the public pushed back on the firms helping with the search after learning that a full list of superintendent applicants would not be made available to them.
Who are the candidates?
In addition to Chapman, the five other candidates whom the board selected as semifinalists are:
Ahart, former superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa
Jermaine Dawson, chief academic and accountability officer for Birmingham City Schools in Alabama
Stephanie Jones, chief of diverse learner supports and services for Chicago Public Schools
Brian McDonald, superintendent of the Pasadena Unified School District in California
George (Eric) Thomas: educational consultant and former Cincinnati Public Schools educator
Board Vice President Christina Vera said each of the candidates was "interested in Columbus" as a community and a district — and they also each represent diverse backgrounds from regions across the country.
"Ultimately, the next leader of this district needs to be someone who understands our community," Vera said.
What is the timeline?
Vera said the board would begin interviewing candidates Tuesday.
"It may feel like a marathon to some, but for us we are making sure to take every pace possible to make sure we are thinking about our students and our community at the forefront," Vera said.
On Tuesday, the board will hold another special meeting where it will go into executive session to interview and discuss candidates. The board will have a regular business meeting on Wednesday. On Thursday, the school board will hold another special meeting where it will again go into executive session and then return to publicly announce the finalists who will participate in the final round of interviews.
After interviews, the board will invite final candidates to visit Columbus for a “Day in the District” on May 11. As part of the event, the district will host a “Meet the Candidates” community forum, where members of the community can hear from the finalists in a moderated question-and-answer format.
Final interviews by the board will be held the week of May 15th.
Board President Jennifer Adair previously said the board wants the job filled by the start of the 2023-24 school year in late August.
The district has also created a landing page, ccsleadershipsearch.com, where residents can track progress and community input.
Who is running the search?
The Columbus City school board approved paying a total of $250,000 to be handled by the Taft Stettinius & Hollister law firm, which has offices in Columbus, to assist in finding the next chief executive for the district.
The board also contracted with Ray & Associates, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based firm that specializes in school executive leadership searches and Fahlgren Mortine, a Columbus-based marketing firm, to assist in the search. All applications were submitted directly to Ray & Associates and the firm had pre-screened applicants before presenting them to the board.
Each application was screened based on their administrative experience, academic backgrounds, and input from the community and the board, according to a release.
The Des Moines Register staff contributed to this report.
Cbehrens@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Tom Ahart finalist for Columbus City Schools superintendent
