The search for an interim superintendent of the Las Cruces Public Schools has officially begun, while former Superintendent Sonia Diaz’s hearing to appeal her firing is scheduled to be held today and tomorrow.
The school board, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News, decided Tuesday night to set in motion a search that should have an interim superintendent in place by the end of February.
Advertising will begin immediately, the newspaper reported. The board is seeking a candidate who has previous superintendent experience in
With the timeline selected, the board plans to announce its decision on Feb. 20 or Feb. 27, before any new board members elected in the Feb. 6 school board election take office. New members will be allowed to sit in on the interview process, and their opinions will be considered by the board.
The position will pay $130,000 annually and may last until June 2008, the newspaper reported. Applications are due by Feb. 2.
Applications will be reviewed by a community and district committee in the middle of February. The board will meet Feb. 20 to review finalists.
Board members decided that the interim superintendent will not be allowed to apply for the permanent position. The board hopes to have a permanent superintendent by the spring or summer of 2008, the newspaper reported.
As for Diaz – her two-day hearing begins today, but may not take the entire time allotted. She is the only one who could have made the hearing public, and she declined to do that. The exact reasons for her firing have still not been disclosed.
We won’t know anything until the board makes a decision at the end of the hearing.