Schools chief down to 2 finalists
Fayetteville board narrows search to pair of Missourians
FAYETTEVILLE — Two men from Missouri are the finalists for the Fayetteville School District’s superintendent post.
The School Board selected Anthony Rossetti and Brad Swofford as the finalists late Thursday after interviews with six candidates this week, board President Nika Waitsman said Friday.
Rossetti is superintendent of schools for the Webb City School District in Webb City, Mo. Swofford is superintendent of the Branson School District in Branson, Mo.
“The Board is thrilled with these two outstanding candidates for the position of superintendent of Fayetteville Public Schools,” Waitsman said in a news release. “Both of them have served for many years in their current districts and have sought this position because of a deep appreciation and respect for the uniqueness of Fayetteville and Fayetteville Public Schools.”
Rossetti and Swofford will visit Fayetteville between Thursday and Feb. 22 for a final round of interviews, according to a news release from Alan Wilbourn, the district’s public information officer.
Rossetti began his educational career in 1995 as a sixth grade teacher. He was superintendent of the Miller (Mo.) School District for five years before becoming superintendent of the Webb City district in July 2010, his resume states.
Webb City has 4,700 students and a $60 million annual budget, according to Rossetti’s application for the Fayetteville job.
Swofford has spent his entire career in the Branson district, starting as a high school teacher and coach in 1995. He worked his way up to junior high school principal in 2001, to assistant superintendent in 2009 and to superintendent in 2015, according to his resume.
Branson has an enrollment of 4,700 students and an annual budget of $62 million, according to Swofford’s application.
Fayetteville’s enrollment as of last fall was 10,426. The district’s preliminary budget for this school year showed expenditures projected at about $128 million.
The board interviewed six candidates via Zoom over three days this week, with the talks ending Thursday night. The group then went into executive session and chose the finalists.
The new superintendent will begin July 1, according to Wilbourn’s release. John L Colbert, the district’s current superintendent, is retiring this summer.
The board narrowed its candidate list from 31 to six during a special meeting Jan. 28.
The search for the next superintendent started with a planning meeting in September. GR Recruiting of St. Louis led the hiring process.
The base salary for the position was advertised as being “in the range of $275,000” plus a comprehensive benefits package, according to the job description posted by GR Recruiting.