Three applications were received by deadline and the Winn Parish School Board set Thursday, August 7, as their date for interviewing all three hopefuls to fill the position of School Superintendent to replace Al Simmons who will retire December 31 this year.
It is unclear if the board will name that successor the same night or even if any will be accepted, as member Harry Scott asked some “What if” questions to board attorney Jon Guice who advised the members on steps of this process. All three candidates are qualified, Guice said, that matter having been verified by a third-party (Ouachita School Board).
Guice of Catahoula Parish said he understands the workings of a small school district like Winn. He confirmed that there is indeed a re-do process that the board could follow should none of the candidates be acceptable but his focus Monday night was looking ahead to the three prospects in hand.
As to time, the board cannot legally hire the next superintendent before August 2 (a 30-day lapse following the final legal notice in the official journal) and that individual would not become “superintendent” until after December 31. But the board might want to have the superintendent-elect hired for a time to work in tandem with Simmons to begin to learn how the Winn system works.
For fairness to the process, all applications remained in a sealed mailbox until after the deadline. No late applications will be considered. The board agreed to Guice’s suggestion of interviewing all applicants on the same day, drawing lots to determine sequence and asking each the same questions “to compare apples to apples.”
Since each interview is expected to take from an hour to an hour and 15 minutes, they determined that 5 p.m. would be a suitable start time on this. After some discussion, they decided that Thursday, August 7, (the first day of school) would be good. Guice strongly encouraged an open, public process so the initial interviews will be open to the public although each applicant will later be taken into executive session where other personal subjects might be broached.
The final vote will be made by signed, written papers which will be folded, turned in then read aloud in public session.
The three applicants are: Dr. Troy A. Bell of Winnsboro who is assistant superintendent of operations and federal programs director plus supervisor, principal and classroom teacher through the years; John Thompson of Atkins, AR, who served as superintendent of the Dardanelle School District for 25 years as well as having been principal or assistant principal at each Atlanta, Dodson and Sikes High Schools plus classroom teacher and coach; and Denise Young of Winnfield who serves as a Special Education supervisor for Grant Parish as well as assistant principal and principal at Atlanta High School plus classroom teacher at WSHS, Calvin and Dodson.