18 apply for schools chief slot

♦ The Rome BOE will get a look at the candidates today.

The Georgia School Board Association will be presenting a total of 18 superintendent applicants to the Rome City Schools board of education Tuesday.

Although the GSBA will be setting up technology in open session, Interim Superintendent Dawn Williams said the meeting will mainly be held in executive session.

While the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting doesn’t list any potential board actions, Board Chair Jill Fisher said they will likely choose a date to meet and decide on which candidates they would like to interview.

The search started in March after the former superintendent, Louis Byars, announced he would retire on May 31. Williams, the assistant superintendent at the time, was tapped to take over the top role until a permanent replacement is named.

The board hired GSBA to facilitate the search for $7,800, approximately $10,000 cheaper than the competitors.

Vice Chair Will Byington and board member Faith Collins both have prior experience using GSBA to select a superintendent since they were on the board when it hired Byars in 2017.

Moreover, Byington affirmed GSBA will be taking a facilitator role while the board will ultimately select the candidates.

The next step the board will take is to schedule a meeting where they will select which applicants will move on to the interview process, Fisher said.

Once the board narrows its choices down to three candidates, Georgia law dictates the board must announce who those choices are.

Though GSBA is responsible for scheduling future interviews, Fisher added that she hopes, after two or three rounds of interviews, the finalist will be announced before school starts in August.

Tuesday’s meeting will be held at the Rome Board of Education Administrative Offices, 508 E. Second St., in the former board training room at 5:30 p.m.