The School Board will narrow candidates for the superintendent search Tuesday evening in a special board meeting that’s closed to the public. 

Twenty-two people applied for the superintendent position, said Brian Jordan, deputy director of the Kansas Association of School Boards. 

He said the candidates were screened to see how well their experiences aligned with the desired characteristics Eudora residents said they wanted through a community survey and eight focus groups. 

School Board members will also decide Tuesday night what questions they’ll ask the candidates through the course of the interviews. 

“Each candidate will be asked the same questions in the same order by the same board members, so we give a fair feel for the answers,” said Mark Chrislip, School Board president. 

Interviews will likely take place April 28, 29 and 30, but that could potentially change depending on the School Board’s decision Tuesday night, Jordan said. 

The names of the finalists won’t be announced until the morning of the interviews. Chrislip said likely none of the names would surface out of Tuesday evening’s meeting.

“We can’t talk about people’s names in an open session,” Chrislip said. “There won’t be any indication of who the candidates are or who we select to interview ‘cause that’s going to be all confidential.” 

The finalists’ names won’t be announced Tuesday evening because the School Board would need to contact the candidates to ensure they are still interested, Chrislip said. 

Interviews will not be made public, unlike the search process current Superintendent Steve Splichal underwent when he applied for the superintendent position in Wyoming. There, Splichal’s interview was broadcast via Facebook Live to the public in February with over 360 views and a live chat from community members asking questions. 

The Eudora superintendent has a current salary of about $130,000.

The next superintendent will likely still be announced May 4, Chrislip said.  

Reach reporter Nicole Asbury at [email protected].

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