Nashua-Plainfield, RRMR school districts have super plan in place

By Bob Fenske, Of the Reporter

If the plan stays on track, Nashua-Plainfield and Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock school districts will know who their next superintendent will be sometime early next month.

Retiring Superintendent Keith Turner said last week the two districts he jointly serves have reduced the 16 applicants to three finalists and the plan is to have them go through on-site interviews next week.

“We’re on track to know who’s going to lead Rockford and Nashua-Plainfield relatively soon,” Turner said. “I think so far the process has gone really well. The search firm we’re working from has done an excellent job. … One of the reasons I announced my retirement as early as I did is that I wanted both our boards to have plenty of time to find the next superintendent.”

Turner announced in January his intention to retire, and both Rockford and Nashua-Plainfield decided to continue sharing a superintendent.

Of the 16 superintendent applications the two districts received, seven have a specialist degree while another five have doctorates.

Eight of the candidates, according to a press release, have four or more years of school district leadership experience; 10 of them are from Iowa, and the other six are from out of state.

Nashua-Plainfield and Rockford officials said they would share the names of the finalists “soon after the screening interviews” that took place during a joint board meeting last week, but as of Monday they had not yet done so, saying they were still waiting to see if all three potential finalists would agree to being interviewed.

According to the press release, the desired qualifications for a new superintendent, based on feedback from a stakeholder survey, include:

• Recruits, hires, supports develops and retains effective staff members.

• Effectively manages district resources.

• Promotes a community of care and support.

• Is a strong instructional leader.

• Is approachable, accessible and welcoming.

• Follows through on tasks and responsibilities.

• Possesses strong communication skills.

• Brings out success in others.

• Demonstrates ethics and integrity.

The two boards hope to name a shared superintendent “soon after the formal interviews,” which will include stakeholders in both districts.

“We have some excellent applicants,” Turner said. “I feel confident that our boards are going to find the person to lead these two districts forward.”