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Board advances five superintendent candidates, sets July 23 interviews after transparency debate
Summary
The board accepted an ad hoc committee recommendation to advance five candidates for interviews on July 23, 2025, after extended discussion about rubrics, reference-check summaries and public access to candidate materials. Trustees requested redacted packets and reference summaries before interviews and voted unanimously to invite all five candidates and start interviews at 4 p.m.
The Solano County Board of Education moved forward Wednesday with the process to select its next county superintendent of schools, accepting the ad hoc committee’s recommendation to invite five candidates to public interviews on July 23.
Board counsel and the recruitment consultant reviewed a screening process that began with 14 applicants and narrowed to five finalists using a job-linked rubric and reference checks. The consultant described interview logistics — 40-minute interviews that include an allotted open‑comment period — and explained that candidate packets will be published with redactions for personal information in advance of the public interviews.
Trustees who were not on the ad hoc committee asked for more information before eliminating any applicants, citing the need for transparency when the board chose appointment rather than a public election. Several trustees requested a summary of reference checks and committed letters be included in the packet (redacted as necessary). Trustee Dean said he could not support eliminating two qualified candidates without seeing application materials and public letters in advance.
After debate the board voted unanimously to forward all five recommended candidates to the July 23 interviews and directed staff and counsel to provide redacted candidate packets, letters submitted for and against candidates, and a reference-check summary in advance of the meeting. The board also voted to begin the July 23 meeting at 4 p.m. to accommodate the anticipated length of interviews and deliberations.
Public comment: Colleen Ben S. Fahey, vice president of the Solano County Education Association, asked trustees to prioritize “educational leadership, strong collaboration, equity, inclusion, and successful past and current experiences” in the choice of superintendent and offered the union’s willingness to participate in the selection process.
What’s next: Trustees will receive redacted candidate packets and a summary of reference checks in advance; the five finalists will appear for public interviews on July 23, and the board will publicly tally first‑place votes during deliberations after interviews.
