Superintendent selection process under way

The search has begun.

If you follow the news at Libby School District, you are aware that Superintendent Kirby Maki has submitted his resignation effective the end of June.  Selecting a new superintendent is one of the most important jobs a board undertakes. Consequently, the Libby Board of Trustees is beginning the search early, utilizing the expertise of the Montana School Boards Association.

Board members have already set a timeline for posting the position with a start date of Dec. 2 and a closing date of Jan. 17.  

A week after closing, the board will screen the applicants, narrowing the field to three or four candidates and will conduct interviews the end of the first week in February.  

The community will have two opportunities for input regarding the qualities they are looking for in the new superintendent. One will be through an online survey, and the second will be an open session before or after one of our January meetings.  

The community also will be invited to an open house where all the candidates to be interviewed will be present. This event is planned for the evening before interviews.

The community is reminded that all deliberations in this process must take place in public view unless there is a privacy issue requiring a closed session.  

Take advantage of the public input opportunities to make your voice heard, then sit in and listen during the screening and interviews.  

Your board of trustees wants you to be involved in this important decision.

(Ellen Johnston is chairwoman of the Libby Schools Board of Trustees.)