ROCK SPRINGS – Sweetwater County School District No. 1 is one step closer to hiring a new superintendent.
During a special meeting Monday evening, the board voted to begin contract negotiations with an unnamed finalist. The board will approve the contract with that finalist at a future board meeting.
The meeting was primarily an executive session for the board to discuss the trustees’ favored finalists and reach a consensus as to who should be hired. The session was more than an hour long. While board members did not publicly disclose who their favored candidates were, one parent used the public comment period before the executive session to voice support for Joseph Libby.
“Personally, Dr. Libby was my favorite,” Josh Sorensen said.
Sorensen said he was happy with all four candidates the board chose as finalists, saying any one of the four would be a great hire for the district.
“I don’t think any of the four would do us wrong,” he said.
The board also received written comments from two district employees. Weston Lamb-Costantino was impressed with the finalists and understands the difficult choice the trustees will need to make.
“I know selecting the next superintendent is a [challenging] task, but I have full confidence in this board to select our next leader,” he wrote. “Thank you for the forums and allowing everyone to have a voice.”
Concerns were raised about the future of the district’s four-day school week.
“As I listened to several candidates for superintendent, I was very concerned as to their answers on the 4 day school week,” Connie Johnson wrote. “I don’t feel they did their research to see how it actually runs or what benefits this has brought teachers/administrators.”
Johnson told the board the Fridays are beneficial in giving teachers time to prepare and plan, as well as determine what changes should be made to meet the needs of students. Additionally, she said she’s able to address concerns and needs with building administrators as they’re not always available after school.
“The candidates didn’t address any concern about the staff and the positives that it has brought to our district,” Johnson wrote. “I do know it is benefiting my students at the elementary level.”
She said she hopes the candidate the district hires will learn of how beneficial the four-day week is and that it isn’t “just a ‘day off’ as one candidate stated.”
