Noblesville Schools plans to hire its next superintendent in late June
Noblesville Schools plans to hire its next superintendent in late June.
At a school board meeting on Tuesday, board president Joe Forgey gave a short update on the superintendent search, saying there were “a few I’s to dot and T’s to cross.”
“We are nearing the end,” he said of the search. “We will be bringing a candidate forward at the June 21st meeting.”
Hiring a superintendent is one of the biggest roles of a school board. The superintendent is the school employee the board interacts with most and the person who manages the day-to-day operations of the district of roughly 10,500 students.
The search for the next Noblesville leader has been ongoing for several months after current Superintendent Beth Niedermeyer announced in December that she will retire on June 30. Niedermeyer has led the district since 2014 and is the highest-paid of her peers in Hamilton County.
Much of the superintendent hiring process, including interviews, is typically done in closed board sessions as allowed by state law.
However, the board must have a public hearing at least seven days before they vote on a candidate to hear comments on the proposed contract. And notice of that hearing, which includes contract details, must be posted at least 10 days in advance.
The notice will include proposed contract details such as the monetary value of the contract, benefits and any other compensation. It does not include the name of the candidate.
If the board plans to make a hire on June 21, the contract notice will likely publish in early June at the latest.
Noblesville Schools originally planned to hire a superintendent in May to start in in June to have a month to overlap with Niedermeyer, but now the overlap would be at most nine days, depending on when the contract starts.
Search for Noblesville superintendent
In February, the school board hired University Search Team to aid in the search. The search firm is created of faculty from the four public universities in the state: Ball State, Indiana, Indiana State and Purdue.
The firm and district sent out a survey to find out what the school community wants in the next superintendent. Among the repeated qualities was a leader who puts students first and keeps political pressures out of school. The school board also met with community stakeholders for their feedback.
Additionally, the district did a Noblesville-wide survey asking for feedback about the schools. That second survey was already planned ahead of the search and was a follow-up to a similar 2015 survey. However, it will be an entry point for the next district leader, district spokesperson Marnie Cooke previously said.
Applications for Noblesville superintendent closed in early April and the board started reviewing applications that month.
Based on agendas for executive sessions of the board, the board had five meetings in April and May "to receive information about and interview prospective employees" which were likely interviews. The most recent one was Tuesday.
If you go: The next regular school board meeting is 7 p.m. on June 21 at the district's educational services center, 18025 River Road in Noblesville.
Call IndyStar education reporter MJ Slaby at 317-447-1586 or email her at mslaby@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @mjslaby.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Noblesville School Board to hire next superintendent in June 2022
