Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Superintendent Search topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
State Board votes to enter closed session to review 34 superintendent applications; 23 requested confidentiality
Summary
The State Board of Education voted to go into closed session at 10:20 AM to review applications for the superintendent of public instruction; the posting closed Aug. 5 with 34 applicants, 23 of whom requested confidentiality, and 10 whose materials were public.
At its Aug. 12 meeting the State Board of Education voted to convene a closed session to review applications for the superintendent of public instruction under the Open Meetings Act. Dr. Pamela Pugh told the board the posting closed Aug. 5 and that 34 applications were received; 23 applicants requested confidentiality while 10 did not.
Dr. Pugh cited the Open Meetings Act (MCL 15.268(8)(f)) when describing the legal basis for entering a closed session to consider application contents for candidates who asked to keep their materials confidential. The board asked Dr. McGee and Dr. Collins to provide an overview of the 10 candidates who did not request confidentiality and Dr. Collins proceeded to read biographical summaries for those candidates, including Adam Spina (superintendent of Williamston), Dr. David Bough, Duane Brown, John Searls, Dr. Mandy Stewart, Michael Haines, Nakenji Bergen, Sherry Gaye Dervano, Victor Bogni/Bugni, and Victoria Jimerson.
Board members clarified procedural expectations before entering closed session, noting that no hiring decisions would be made in closed session but that the board would, when it reconvened in open session, vote on which candidates to interview. The motion to enter closed session was moved, supported, and carried by roll-call vote; the board entered closed session at 10:20 AM and planned to reconvene at 1:00 PM. Consultants from HYA, the search firm supporting the superintendent search, joined board members in the closed session.
The board's action to review applications in closed session followed statutory exemptions for personnel application confidentiality; any subsequent interviews or public actions were scheduled to be decided in open session after reconvening.
