Lake Wales board names five finalists for superintendent; schedules campus tours and afternoon interviews

The Lake Wales Charter Schools Board of Trustees selected five finalists for the district’s superintendent search and agreed on an interview format that includes campus tours in the morning and interviews in the afternoon.

Chairman Dan Gill opened the May work session by outlining the process and asking board members to refer to applicants by number rather than name. “I ask that you to use the candidate number today rather than the name,” he told trustees as the board prepared to discuss candidates and scheduling.

Why this matters: the board’s choice will determine which candidates advance to in-person interviews and campus tours and shape the timeline for naming the district’s next superintendent.

At the work session the board discussed scheduling, interview questions and candidate vetting. Trustees agreed to invite five finalists to the next stage: candidates 9, 10, 11, 17 and 18. The board reached the list by a series of motions and votes taken during the regular meeting that followed the work session.

Board members debated whether to advance only applicants who submitted the requested introduction video. Six applicants submitted videos; one applicant withdrew and three did not submit videos. A board member noted the video had been listed as part of the application requirements and said, "If you didn't submit it, then in essence you have decided you don't wanna proceed in our opinion." The board signaled broad support for prioritizing candidates who submitted videos while preserving each trustee’s discretion to move forward other applicants if desired.

A teacher representative raised repeated concerns about excluding the teacher seat from the interview question-and-answer portion when that representative would be absent on some interview dates. The teacher representative told trustees they “strongly ask that it's in May, that I'm here. I think it's a big mistake that I go through this process and not have a teacher's voice,” and said they might resign to ensure a teacher voice is present if the schedule could not accommodate them.

Trustees discussed two scheduling windows for in-person interviews: the proposed late-May dates (May 28–30) or the week of June 2. Chairman Gill described a proposed day that would bring candidates in for campus tours beginning at about 8 a.m., provide lunch, then hold interviews from about 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The board asked administrative staff to work on scheduling; board staff Laquanda was asked to arrange locations and logistics and Marie to place the interview-question selection on the next agenda.

On process, the board said each trustee would ask three standardized questions of each candidate during individual interviews; counsel provided a bank of roughly 90 questions for trustees to select from and trustees planned to finalize question choices the following week.

Formal actions: the board moved and approved finalists one candidate at a time. Candidate 11 was approved first; candidate 9 and candidate 18 were approved subsequently. Candidate 10 was approved after a roll-call-style opposition was recorded (two trustees — Rafael and Andy — registered no votes on that motion). Candidate 17 also passed amid recorded opposition (three trustees — Brian, Andy and Rafael — registered no votes). The board then confirmed the five finalists would be contacted with next steps for interviews and campus visits.

The board closed by thanking all applicants for applying and for producing introduction videos, which trustees said provided useful insight into candidates’ priorities and leadership styles. Administrative staff will notify the five finalists about interview dates and logistics once arrangements are finalized.

Next steps: staff will finalize interview dates and site logistics (tours, lunch and afternoon interviews) and trustees will select the three standardized questions each intends to ask during the one-on-one interview sessions.