Valpo schools will brainstorm about, search for, identify, interview, select and hire a new superintendent, all in about two months – practically before spring arrives – if plans laid out by the school board on Jan. 23 pan out.
At the tail end of its regular monthly meeting, board President Mark Maassel said the district would open up the electronic suggestion box on its website www.valpo.k12.in.us and invite the community’s ideas on the skills and characteristics it wants in its next schools head.
Part of the board’s next discussion meeting on Feb. 6 will entertain input from the public via a facilitator. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at Benjamin Franklin Middle School.
Maassel said his personal preference was to work fast on the appointment, getting through the process by mid- to late-March.
Five men served as superintendent of Valparaiso schools from 1915 to 2010, serving for an average of 19 years. Andrew Melin, who was appointed superintendent in 2010 by a board that included three of the current members, left the district two years later. Former Portage schools chief Michael Berta came out of retirement to replace Melin. Last month Berta announced his retirement effective in summer 2014.