Grosse Pointe Superintendent Interviews Begin Today

Three of the revealed to the Board last week will start the formal interview process today in 's auditorium beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Board members agreed last week to a round-robin type of interview in which each member will ask a question and the next one will ask another question after the candidate has answered the first. 

The interviews conducted this week will allow the board to eliminate candidates from the pool. The two or three selected for a second interview will do so July 11 and 12—an interview that is a daylong experience during which the candidate receives a tour of the district, interacts with the board members and will have the opportunity to interact with the public during a public reception at one of the schools.

The board hopes to , according to the district's search schedule. 

Following a lengthy debate, the board voted 5-2 to eliminate having a board meeting dinner with the candidates during the second round of interviews. A dinner interview is common practice but some board members had reservations.

Board Vice President Joan Dindoffer told fellow members the public dinner is uncomfortable and she doesn't see a need for it. She described it as being an awkward event, noting if anyone from the public were to attend, they would be sitting on the outside of the dinner table watching everyone eat and interact. 

Board President John Steininger told Dindoffer if she felt uncomfortable then she didn't need to attend as it is not a requirement. Dindoffer said if interviewing were going on with a candidate, regardless of the format, she would be in attendance. Board member Brendan Walsh agreed with Dindoffer and then layered her motion to cancel the dinner by adding that no single board member should have one-on-one contact with candidates related to the interview process.

The layered motion essentially prevents one or a few board members from performing behind-the-scenes interviews of candidates. Public access laws require that any time a quorum of members gathers, it's considered a public meeting to prevent public business from being conducted in private, which is why the dinner experience would be a public meeting if four or more members were to attend.

Steininger and Walsh argued about the motion and Steininger emphasized the importance of being able to be in contact with the candidates and his desire to have such interaction with them. He also suggested that Walsh's motion prevented him from participating in polite greetings with the candidates, naming in particular the only internal candidate, Tom Harwood.

Walsh told Steininger he was misinterpreting the spirit of the motion. 

Board member Cindy Pangborn was the only other member to vote in favor of having the dinner, noting her past experience in finding a superintendent years ago when she also served on the board. She said she felt it was an important part of the interview because it provides board members with another perspective of the candidate and that in past, helped the board eliminate some candidates. 

The Interview Schedule

4:30 p.m. Monday, June 20

• Paul Long, superintendent for Pennsbury School District in Pennsylvania for five years. He earned his doctorate of education and his master's in business administration from the University of Pennsylvania and his bachelor's from the U.S. Naval Academy. Pennsbury Schools have 11,235 students enrolled and nearly a $176 million budget. He previously worked as a business administrator, director of finance, an associate professor and a naval officer. 
  

6:30 p.m. Monday, June 20

• Richard Machesky, assistant superintendent for Secondary Education in Troy School District for four years. He earned his doctorate in education and master's from Wayne State University and his bachelor's from Calvin College. Troy Schools have 12,000 students enrolled and work with a $137 million budget. Previously he worked as a director of secondary education, a principal and an associate principal.
  

8:30 p.m. Monday, June 20

• Michael Jon Dean, assistant superintendent for human resources in Birmingham Public Schools for three-and-a-half years. He is to earn his doctorate in education at Wayne State University in December. He earned his education specialist degree from Saginaw Valley University, his master's and bachelor's from Wayne State University. Birmingham Schools have an enrollment of 8,100 students and a $105 million budget. Dean has previously served as a principal. He lives in the Grosse Pointes.

4:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 21

• Vincent Cotter, superintendent of Colonial School District in Pennsylvania for 11 years. Cotter earned his doctorate of education at Temple University, his master's and his bachelor's at Millersville University. Enrollment in his current district is 5,000 students with a budget of about $96 million. Previously he's worked as a high school and middle school principal as well as an assistant principal.

6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 21

• Thomas Harwood, assistant superintendent for human resources in Grosse Pointe Schools for four years. He will earn his doctorate in education from Eastern Michigan University in the fall. He also earned his specialist in arts degree at EMU, his master's in clinical psychology and his bachelor's in psychology/sociology from Western Michigan University. He's previously worked as a director of special services, superintendent and elementary principal. Harwood lives in Rochester.

All the interviews will be recorded and televised after they are completed. The board agreed to make a decision following the last interview regarding who will receive a second interview and who will be eliminated from the pool of candidates. 

Harwood, who is the current assistant superintendent of human resources, applied for the superintendent position in Rochester Community Schools earlier this year. He was one of but was . 

The district is searching for a new superintendent to replace its longest-serving employee in the role, C. Suzanne Klein. in December and she'll have been in the position for 15 years when she retires.