The next stage of finding a new superintendent for Owensboro Public Schools begins Thursday. The number of applicants will be discussed during a meeting open to the public, but the review and screening process will take place during a closed session. The selection process will still take a few more months.
Thursday’s meeting will be the first joint meeting of the search and screening committees. According to the agenda, Quin Sutton from the Kentucky School Board Association’s Superintendent Search Service will join the meeting. KSBA is the district-appointed search firm for Dr. Matthew Constant’s successor.
Sutton will provide a breakdown of the number of applicants and their demographics and preview the tentative timeline for the selection process. Following that presentation, the screening committee will go into a closed session, which is not open to the public, to review applications and begin their screening process.
The application window opened August and closed on January 1. The committee will convene three times to narrow down the candidates, starting with Thursday’s meeting.
The OPS school board previously said they plan to complete their interviews by March 22, with the goal of naming a superintendent on or before April 8.
The screening committee is comprised of:
- One board member (appointed by the board chair)
- One principal (elected by district principals)
- Two teachers (elected by district teachers)
- One classified staff (elected by district classified staff)
- One parent (elected by president of school PTOs)
- One minority parent (only if a minority is not already selected in one of the above; elected by all parents)
In the meantime, Anita Burnette will continue to serve as interim superintendent until the board hires someone.
Constant was first suspended from his position with pay in May 2023, and the board began the process of terminating him in June 2023. He was arrested on July 27, 2023, by Kentucky State Police and charged with two Class D felonies. For the latest on that case, click here.
