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Superintendent candidate review committee to include nine appointees - Update County News Thursday, 10 March 2011 08:47 Hartig By Rick Madewell Assistant Editor In an emergency meeting Friday, the Osceola County School Board accepted the resignation of Superintendent Michael Grego and voted to begin a national search for his replacement. Grego informed board members March 2 that his last day with the Osceola County School District would be May 31. During Friday’s meeting, the board voted to begin a national search for Grego's replacement and to enlist the guidance of Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, in filling the position. The School Board also reached an agreement to compile a short list of candidates through an appointed person by each School Board member, one appointee each from the chambers of commerce in Kissimmee and St. Cloud and one appointee each from the Osceola Classroom Teachers Association and the Teamsters, which represents support staff in the district. Board Chairman Cindy Hartig explained that the inclusion of the chambers and the unions in narrowing the list of candidates is vital, adding that the Kissimmee chamber’s educational committee played a role in hiring Grego three years ago. Twelve to 13 members make up each chamber’s educational committee, she said. “They are looking at it from an economical standpoint,” Hartig said. Having the involvement of the unions, she said, also is important. “I think the unions belong in it,” Hartig said. “The more groups involved, the chances of having success are a lot better.” According to Hartig, the groups involved will be targeting about five candidates for the shortlist. Hartig said each School Board member could appoint one person to the review committee without any boundaries. She said her appointment to the group would be Casmore Shaw, president of the Caribbean and Floridian Association. Board Member Jay Wheeler, in his weekly newsletter, addressed inaccurate information circulating regarding an interim superintendent being named by the board. “Some idiot with a blog was posting that the board was going to name an interim superintendent,” he stated. “Another dumb rumor.” Wheeler also indicated he did not like the committee that would be working with the School Board in narrowing the list, in particular, the unions’ involvement. “I am not crazy about the committee thing,” he stated. “Plus, by including the unions, it would be like asking the corporals in the Army to pick their generals. Could you imagine the Army doing that?” Board Member Tom Long said even with tough times ahead, the district must grow from the positives made during Grego’s tenure. “The district is facing many hurdles. We have no choice but to move forward. We are committed to continue the improvements Dr. Grego initiated,” he said. “I am confident the board will work hard to maintain high school letter grades and increase the letter grades of the 13 elementary schools that dropped last year.” Long added that now is not the time to settle on recent achievements within the district. “We must find a way to duplicate the accomplishments of our combination schools. They have consistently earned mostly A's, while leading the district in providing adequate yearly progress,” he said. “This community cannot rest on our laurels or lose focus of constant improvement.” The board will have a workshop Friday at 9 a.m. at the district building, 817 Bill Beck Blvd., Kissimmee, to discuss transitional issues relating to the superintendent’s office and the budget. Another board meeting is set for Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.   Please register or log in to post comments. JComments