There are still no applicants for the school superintendent job in Fayetteville, and School Board members are set to meet Thursday to talk about how to attract applicants to the job.
Fayetteville school board members said they do not have applicants because they have not formally posted the job. The one candidate who applied, Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell, withdrew his application.
School Board members are set to discuss Thursday when to begin accepting formal applications. They have also been encouraging members of the public to speak up on the issue and voice what kind of person they want for the job.
"Once we open the position up and get formal applications, there will be more (applicants)," said board member Susan Heil.
School Board President Tim Hudson told 5NEWS good candidates will surface in the coming months.
"I can't predict the future, but I anticipate that we will have a number of quality applicants that the board can carefully consider," he said.
The School Board has developed a position profile of the ideal candidate for the superintendent. Hudson said it's a set of guidelines to be used during the hiring process.
"The board has looked over those on a couple of occasions during this search process, and to date, I have heard nothing but support for that set of guidelines we are looking for," he said.
The current profile was developed in 2008 during the hiring of current superintendent Vicki Thomas. And as the board begins the process again, they are encouraging the community to offer input.
"It's the person that's going to be running our school district, which touches many lives in Fayetteville," Heil said. "We need to make sure everybody is on board with what the position will be and who that person will be that we hire."
Thomas served as Fayetteville’s superintendent for five years. Thomas announced her resignation Jan. 13. She is leaving for Texas to take care of an ill family member, she said. Her resignation is effective at the end of her contract period, on June 30.
Thomas is paid $207,000 a year. Hudson said he expects the new superintendent to receive roughly the same salary.
