School board selects advisory committee

By Gracie Hart
Review Staff Writer
Published: September 18, 2008

Orange County schools took a big step toward finding their next superintendent last week.  The newly formed superintendent advisory committee to the Orange County School Board had their first meeting last Thursday and discussed a timeline for the survey portion of the school superintendent search.
The committee was formed as a result of the Sept. 2 board meeting when board members decided to formulate a citizen-advisory committee to assist them in the selection of a replacement for current superintendent Dr. William Crawford, whose contract expires next summer.
Each school board member was charged with selecting someone to appoint to the committee.  School board member Jim Hopkins and school board clerk Yvonne Dawson will also work with the advisory committee.  Dawson will also serve as the liaison between the school board and the VSBA, which the board has hired to assist them in the search.
“Each school board member [has picked] someone to represent [them],“ said school board chairman Jerry Bledsoe, who chose Vicky Tidman.
According to Dawson, joining Tidman in the committee will be Valerie Smith, chosen by Chris Haney; Lex Smith, chosen by Donna Waugh-Robinson; Tom Short, chosen by Judy Carter; and Donald Brooks, chosen by Jim Hopkins.  Short will serve as chairman.
Currently, the committee is working on distributing a survey aimed at getting citizens’ input as to the qualities that they desire in a new superintendent. The survey comes straight from the VSBA and was designed by University of Virginia statisticians.  According to VBSA officials, the qualifications that the School Board decides to go with often come from the survey results.
According to Dawson, Surveys will be distributed to students on Sept. 23 with a due date of Oct. 2.  Surveys will be distributed to staff Sept. 23 with a due date of Sept. 29.  The surveys will also be located for pick-up in all three libraries, online and at all Orange County Public School facilities.
The committee also set public hearings for citizens to offer suggestions on the qualities desired in a new superintendent.
The first public hearing will be Sept. 30 at 7:00 p.m. at the Taylor Education Administration Complex.  The second public hearing will be Oct. 2 at 7:00 p.m. at Locust Grove Elementary School.“
The second public hearing date, time and place are pending.
Once the surveys are turned in, the committee will be responsible for presenting the results to the board.
Both the surveys and the committee serve as ways of getting the community involved in the search process, said Bledsoe.
“Anything that can be public, we’ll want to be public,“ he said.