Austin ISD plans public forum with superintendent candidates

Board President Vincent Torres explained the board will conduct preliminary, private, in-person interviews with candidates. The board will then narrow down its list to about two or three finalists, who will be invited to a public forum.

For the public forum, trustees discussed establishing an interview committee of representatives from stakeholder groups such as local chambers of commerce, the Austin Council of PTAs and local AISD employees union Education Austin, but after some discussion trustees said there will be no interview committee. Some individuals could be helpful on a committee but will not be part of some organized group, trustee Tamala Barksdale said.

The public forum will be a community-based forum, and members of the community who attend will be able to ask questions, possibly in the form of note cards and a microphone, Torres said.

Gary Ray, president of the executive search firm Ray & Associates, said the company has already compiled a list of about 40 questions by reaching out to stakeholder groups, so the district could incorporate those into the forum as well.

Trustee Ann Teich said it is important to ask hopefuls questions they did not prepare answers for to see how they react.

"I really think we need to see how these candidates perform in a pressure situation, because they will be under pressure," Teich said. "They will be before the public; they will be the face of this district."

After the forum the board will meet privately again, talk with Ray & Associates and conduct follow-up interviews with candidates.

Trustees did not discuss dates for the forum during the meeting, but the current timeline indicates the board will interview finalists and conduct an open public forum between Dec. 4 and 7.

Barksdale said that although the board aims to make the process transparent for the public, members of the community will not be voting on superintendent candidates.

"It's going to be important to emphasize as we go along, that with the commitment to the transparent process comes that it is the board's decision," she said. "There will be criticism, and I think I am ready for that."