At the Nov. 25 personnel committee meeting, Miss Gardner said the assistant principal position at Penwood Middle School is vacant and that the district has been conducting interviews to fill the role. She said five candidates were interviewed Nov. 10 (with Nov. 11 also noted), five more candidates will be interviewed the week of Dec. 1, and second-round interviews are planned for the week of Dec. 8. Miss Gardner said the district hopes to present finalists to the superintendent no later than Dec. 19 and to the board for approval in January.

Miss Gardner told the committee that current vacancies include special-education teachers and instructional assistants. "SPED teachers are in high demand everywhere," she said, and the district identified Walnut, Penwood Middle School and Penwood High School as sites with openings.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about timelines and next steps; no formal hiring votes were recorded during the meeting. The personnel committee encouraged volunteers for interview panels to support hiring and said the district will follow its random-selection process when pulling volunteer names.