Who should be the next Clovis Unified schools superintendent? How to join the debate

Lasherica Thornton
·2 min read

To garner community feedback on the district’s next leader, the Clovis Unified School Board has scheduled three input sessions and launched an online forum.

“The board is seeking the public’s input about the characteristics and priorities important to our community in the district’s next superintendent,” the school district said in a late January announcement on its website.

After six years, Superintendent Eimear O’Brien is retiring at the end of the school year.

Using a subcommittee of three board members to lead the search, the school district plans to name its newest superintendent by mid-to-late March.

Board President David DeFrank and Trustees Hugh Awtrey and Tiffany Stoker Madsen serve on the subcommittee.

The group will recommend the candidates to be interviewed with the option for the board to add candidates to the slate.

Last month, board members Deena Combs-Flores and Steven Fogg emphasized the need to get input from all CUSD stakeholders, from parents, teachers and administrators to business leaders who partner with the district.

“There’s no group I don’t want to hear from,” Fogg said.

How to get involved in Clovis superintendent search

To provide that input and learn about the search process, district stakeholders can attend an in-person meeting on:

  • Feb. 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the Buchanan High Library Lecture Hall.

  • Feb. 21 at 10 a.m. in the Clovis High Library Lecture Hall.

  • Feb. 21 at 11 a.m. in the Clovis West Library Lecture Hall.

Community members can also provide input through the online thought exchange, which will be available until Feb. 26.

Participants describe the qualities they want to see in the new superintendent, then have the chance to rate and comment on other people’s ideas, the district described.

From that exchange, the district will be able to see common themes shared among those who participate, Clovis Unified spokesperson Kelly Avants said.

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab at its website.