Board of Education approves job posting for new superintendent

The Gwinnett County Board of Education approved a job posting for a new school district superintendent in a recent special meeting.

“I think this search is going to yield a tremendous number of candidates,” Board Chair Everton Blair said Thursday. “We will have so many that we’ll be in the position of being able to choose awesome folks and ask really rigorous questions.”

More than two weeks ago, the board voted to buy out the final 11 months of Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks’ contract, which had been set to expire June 30, 2022. Wilbanks, who became superintendent in 1996, is the longest-serving superintendent of a large school district in the country.

Wilbanks will receive a payout of $530,731. The Gwinnett board is paying the Georgia School Board Association $7,000, plus travel expenses, to conduct the national superintendent search for his replacement.

The job posting lists 10 required qualifications for superintendent candidates, including a track record of fostering educational equity as well as the social and emotional well-being of students.

The board decided superintendent experience is preferable, but not required. That opens the position to lower-level administrators such as assistant superintendents or executive directors.

Ateam of three Georgia School Board Association experts will review the applications and the school board will decide which candidates to interview. The board expects to name one or more finalists in July.

The new superintendent’s salary, benefits and start date remain to be negotiated, according to the job posting.