GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — The countdown is on for a new Green Bay Area Public School District superintendent.
Monday night, the school board held a two-hour long special meeting with the superintendent search firm.
It's set to be a five-month long process to decide who will become the next leader of the Green Bay Area Public School District.
BWP & Associates, a search firm based out of Illinois, is helping the district in the hiring process for the new superintendent.
"We already have four people (who) have applied," BWP & Associates director Dr. Joseph Porto said.
Applications just opened Monday.
Along the way, the search firm will be a part of an online survey for parents and teachers, focus groups and community outreach, a leadership profile, and screening interviews.
"We assess the candidates using the profile," Porto said. "The tool becomes just of an enormous importance."
Porto says the firm will narrow down the field before the board conducts the first round of interviews.
But board member and School District Clerk Andrew Becker questioned the transparency.
"I don't like the idea of not knowing if the one that got away was in the pack and maybe a fellow board member saw something that you didn't," Becker said.
"If you want to look at all of the applicants, what do you need us for?," Porto responded.
Board President Laura McCoy explained the board's perspective.
"In prior processes, we weren't always sure at the end that we had seen all the applicants that we maybe should have, that's all," McCoy said. "And I feel confident from what you've said that that won't happen."
Both sides agreed that the firm provides a report explaining why they did and did not pick certain candidates.
The timeline that was presented Monday night was a rough draft, so time and dates could change. However, a new superintendent is expected to be tentatively announced in April of next year.
The original application deadline was set for the end of January, but the firm and the school board agreed to push it back to around the middle of February.
Porto says community members can find the online survey at the main page of the GBAPS website. The survey is set to launch on Dec. 9. Focus groups and community outreach will take place at a central location to be determined on Jan. 10 or Jan. 11.
A district spokesperson says a salary for the new superintendent will be negotiated with the finalist.
Vicki Bayer is the interim superintendent. She replaced Stephen Murley, who stepped down earlier this year due to personal health reasons.
