Board won’t make candidate interviews public

A motion to conduct all interviews for the new Central Valley School District superintendent in open session failed during Monday’s board meeting.

Board member Cindy McMullen pushed for the change, but other board members expressed concerns about how candid the candidates would be if questions were asked in open session.

“We’ve made a commitment to an open and transparent process,” said McMullen, who argued that hiring a new superintendent is the most important task the board has.

McMullen pointed out a law nearly passed the Legislature that would require school boards to record all executive sessions. “I really don’t think we need to give them any more encouragement to pass something like that,” she said. Under current law the board can conduct interviews in executive session, which are closed to the public.

The board is reviewing 18 applications received for the position. Those will be narrowed down to six who will be invited to preliminary interviews on April 8 and 9, but the board will not release the names. The board will narrow those applicants down to the top two or three, who will be invited back for interviews with the public the following week. The board will do final interviews in executive session before announcing their top pick.

McMullen pointed out the preliminary interviews will include community members who have been invited to participate in the process. If the board is willing to open the meetings to selected community members, the interviews should be open to everyone, she said. “I don’t know of any reasons why we shouldn’t,” she said.

Board member Tom Dingus said opening the interviews to the public would make the candidates names public. He wondered whether releasing the names earlier in the process would discourage applicants for other positions down the road. “My concern is more global than specific,” he said. “It’s a difficult debate. There are merits on both sides.”

Dingus was most concerned about opening to the public the final interviews with the top two applicants. “The final interviews, you really don’t want to inhibit the process,” he said.

Dennis Ray of the Northwest Leadership Association, a search consultant firm, recommended keeping the interviews largely in executive session. “The candidate’s ability to reply candidly and forthrightly will be inhibited” if it’s done in open session, he said. Since the candidates in the preliminary interviews will all be asked the same questions, he could imagine someone learning the questions ahead of time and gaining an unfair advantage. “That would certainly in my mind present a less than level playing field,” he said. “It is a concern of mine.”

McMullen said the district has done interviews in a public session in the past and believes the public should be involved. “I see a number of downsides in the community trust” if it is done in executive session, she said. “This is a very strongly held opinion.”

McMullen’s motion failed after none of the other board members in attendance would second it.