The board will begin discussing the criteria for the interim search next Tuesday, July 23, at 10:00 a.m. Board Chair Pete Wildeboer said they hope to announce the interim’s selection by the next board meeting on August 6. This will not be a new full-time replacement for Superintendent Dr. Charles Foust, who was fired at the beginning of the month.
Board members also voted unanimously to direct staff to calculate former Foust’s contract payout and release the amount to the public upon completion. WHQR asked for this amount, including benefits and other leave payouts, shortly after his firing.
Earlier in the meeting, members Pat Bradford and Josie Barnhart disagreed with relying solely on the North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA) to send possible candidates to them, saying they wanted to extend the search beyond just the NCSBA.
NCSBA typically vets potential candidates and does background and licensure checks. According to the board’s lawyers, the interim does not need a superintendent’s license, but the full-hire superintendent does. However, acting superintendent Dr. Christopher Barnes, who was named after Foust’s abrupt firing, said that the board could get an exemption from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction if they hired a new, permanent superintendent without a license.
Barnes also recommended that the board use the NCSBA to find the interim as they are “reliable” but for the superintendent opening suggested a “comprehensive, national search” using a firm. Barnes said he would work with the board’s legal team to bring them three to four firms with a cost analysis.
A district spokesperson said the interim would be paid out of funds already allocated to the superintendent’s office. If the interim superintendent’s payment exceeds that amount, it will come out of the fund balance. The search firm’s payment will also come out of this fund balance, which Chief Financial Officer Ashley Sutton anticipated last month would be around $3 million this fiscal year.
Updates about New Hanover High
The board also approved a 12-month contract for Mobile Modular Management Corporation to provide New Hanover High School (NHHS) with three trailers, each split into two classrooms, for nearly $246,000. Assistant Superintendent Eddie Anderson said the funding will come from the capital funds already allocated to the school.
Last month, the district announced the closure of 16 classrooms in the main building. The building’s foundation has considerable damage.
Anderson said they’re still working out the details of the trailers but expect them to be set up across from the George West building on the NHHS campus. He’ll update the board at their next agenda review meeting on July 31. Board members insisted that students, parents, and the public know more about these classrooms, especially before the school’s open house. Anderson said he hopes the classrooms will be ready before the first day of school on August 26.
