CCSD hopes to name new superintendent by July

CHARLESTON COUNTY, SC (WCSC) - The Charleston County School Board hopes to have a new superintendent in place by the first of July.

But one of the leading candidates is a finalist for a superintendent's job in another state, and Charleston's  application period extends for another three weeks. The deadline for applications is May 15, and that's when board chairman Cindy Bohn Coats says we will find out who applied.

The school board hired a search firm after first asking the South Carolina School Boards  Association to submit candidates for the Charleston County superintendent's job. Last month, the board was considering three candidates.

One of those, Michael Bobby, has withdrawn, and another local candidate, Dr. Lisa Herring, is a finalist for the superintendent's post in Birmingham, Alabama.  Herring is scheduled to pay a visit to Birmingham  and interview  there next week.

Coats says Herring has been transparent, making the board aware of the next steps with Birmingham,  and that she is still interested in the Charleston job.

But the Charleston board won't be whittling candidates down to a semi-finalists list until after the May 15 application deadline, and Coats says it will be the first few days in June when the board conducts semi-finalist interviews via Skype.  Following those interviews, Coats says the board will further reduce the list to finalists.  Those candidates will  be brought to Charleston for personal interviews. 

 "The board has not wavered from its goal to have the new superintendent to lead us into the next school year," Coats maintains.  That means the new superintendent should be in place by the first of July.