Here's what to expect this week in Olentangy, Columbus schools superintendent searches
The two largest school districts in the area, Columbus City Schools and Olentangy Local Schools, are searching for their next superintendent — and both are expected this week to move closer to making a job offer.
Here's what you need to know going into this week:
Columbus City Schools to hold forum Thursday ahead of final interviews
Columbus City Schools Board of Education has narrowed the list of candidates down to three, including current district interim superintendent Angela Chapman. On Thursday, the CCS Board of Education will host the candidates for a community engagement forum.
Read more: Meet your candidates for CCS superintendent
The district, the largest in the state with 45,000 students, is searching for a new school chief executive after outgoing Superintendent Talisa Dixon announced in December that she would be retiring at the end of the current academic year.
The board will invite final candidates to visit Columbus for a “Day in the District” Thursday. 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.
The event will be held from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Thursday at the district's South Administration Building at 3700 S. High St., and will also be livestreamed on the Columbus City Schools Facebook page.
The Board of Education expects to conduct final interviews the week of May 15.
Olentangy Local interviewing finalists Thursday, selection slated for next week
Last week, the Olentangy Local Schools Board of Education announced the two finalists for the open superintendent position for the district, the area's second-largest. This week, members are interviewing them and expect a selection as soon as next Monday.
The two candidates are:
Joseph Clark, superintendent of Nordonia Hills City Schools in Macedonia, Summit County, and a professor at the American College of Education. Clark has also held assistant superintendent positions at Kent City Schools and Barberton City Schools.
Todd Meyer, chief operations officer of Olentangy. He was the first principal of Olentangy Orange High School. Meyer also was the first principal of Westerville Central High School and was the executive director of secondary curriculum and instruction for Westerville City Schools.
The school board will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Olentangy Administrative Offices, 7840 Graphics Way, Lewis Center, for second-round interviews of the two finalists.
It is anticipated that the new superintendent will be announced May 15 and begin the role by Aug. 1, the district has previously said.
Olentangy Local Schools, the second-largest district in the area with nearly 22,000 students, is searching for a new chief executive after Superintendent Mark T. Raiff announced in January that he is retiring at the end of the current school year.
Raiff has been the district’s superintendent for eight years. He first came to the district in 2003 as an assistant principal at Olentangy High School and has also been the principal at Liberty High School and chief academic officer for the district.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What CCS, Olentangy are doing this week in superintendent searches
