Carl Blankenship
carl.blankenship@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — The Rowan-Salisbury Schools Board of Education on Monday began deliberations on hiring a new superintendent.

The virtual meeting was almost exclusively held in closed session as the board pored over the applications it received for the position. The deadline to apply was Friday.

Retiring Superintendent Lynn Moody announced Sept. 14 her last day would Dec. 31, and the job posting by the district requests a Jan. 1 start date. Moody served seven years at the head of the district, overseeing massive changes, including a one-to-one device policy, the district’s new renewal status and school consolidation.

One previous point of discussion was the board’s desire to hire someone who understands renewal, a unique status granted by the state that gives the district broad freedoms not available to other local education agencies. Leading into the hiring process, the board agreed it wanted to look within for a candidate, though the application was open to people outside the district as well.

Chair Kevin Jones said the board on Monday went through the applicants and decided on who to move forward in the process.

The board deliberated for about an hour and 30 minutes on Monday. After coming out of closed session, the board had nothing to announce and Jones adjourned the meeting. Closed session allows the board to not release certain information that is not public. That includes information and hiring matters

After the meeting, Jones declined to say how many applications the district has received at this point and also declined to say if the board is still interested in an internal hire.

“We just went through each applicant and discussed whether we could see them being the next superintendent,” Jones said.

Jones said the board felt good about the applicants and that one of them could become the next superintendent.

“We’re not sure exactly what our next steps will be, but we feel like we’re moving in the right direction,” Jones said, adding he is excited about the candidates the district has.

Shortly after Moody announced her retirement, member Josh Wagner indicated his interest in placing an interim superintendent in the role, though Moody initially advised to put a replacement in the position so they could get acclimated during the second semester before going into the beginning of next school year.

The board ultimately decided to move ahead with the search in earnest and try to find a permanent replacement rather than an interim.

Moody said she is planning to move after her retirement, noting she has grandchildren in Texas.