Is Spokane Public Schools superintendent leaving? Answer could come by Friday

Spokane Public Schools could be looking for a new superintendent as early as next week.

Superintendent Shelley Redinger is among three finalists for a similar job opening in the affluent Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale, Arizona, and a job offer could come by Friday afternoon.

Redinger also is one of 19 applicants for superintendent of Nashville Public Schools, according to a story published this week by the Tennessean newspaper in Nashville.

That search will wrap up at the end of March, the Nashville board told the newspaper.

“We’re ready for any eventuality,” said Amy Bolton, public information officer for the 27,000-student Scottsdale Unified School District.

On Friday morning, the Scottsdale district will hold round-robin interviews with the finalists. Questions will come from the board of directors and committees representing various stakeholder groups – teachers, students, parents and community members, district leaders and staff.

No timeline has been established for the board to extend an offer of employment to its final choice.

However, Bolton said Tuesday if a broad consensus emerges, the board could make a decision as soon as Friday afternoon.

“Or it could decide to start the process all over,” Bolton said.

The new superintendent would assume control July 1 for retiring John Kriekard.

Redinger, who has led Spokane Public Schools since 2012, was contacted about the position by McPherson & Jacobson LLC, a national headhunter hired by the Scottsdale district.

“They wanted an innovative risk-taker, and that’s me,” Redinger said.

The other finalists are Kimberly Guerin, Scottsdale’s assistant superintendent for educational services, and Scott Menzel, the superintendent of the Washtenaw Intermediate School District in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Prior to Scottsdale, Guerin worked in the Paradise Valley Unified School District as assistant superintendent of elementary education. She has a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and a doctorate in education from Northern Arizona University.

Menzel has been superintendent of the Washtenaw Intermediate School District since 2011. Intermediate school districts in Michigan serve as coordinating organizations for local districts.

The Scottsdale district serves Scottsdale, a city of about 270,000, and parts of Phoenix, Tempe and the suburb of Paradise Valley.

Redinger said she has kept the Spokane board of directors in the loop during her job search.