Anzar principal search rebooted after finalist turns down job

The Aromas-San Juan Unified School District is back to the drawing board with its search for a new Anzar High School principal.

The chosen finalist for the job turned down an offer for the principal job, the school board president confirmed Wednesday. Today, the district re-posted the position on Edjoin.org, a nationwide education job board, and on the district’s website.

The job post lists the compensation at $104,536-$121,724 and requests a start date of July 1. The district’s new principal hiring timeline, meanwhile, lays out the interview process and calls for a board approval May 8, or slightly less than two months from now.

The district is looking to hire a successor to Principal Charlene McKowen, who is retiring after nearly two decades in the role.

Board President Jennifer Colby told San Benito Live on Wednesday that trustees will get a breakdown on the timeline at tonight’s district meeting set for 6:30 p.m. at San Juan School, 100 Nyland Drive.

Colby said the chosen candidate from the recent search, before the board voted unanimously to approve the selection in late February, initially planned to relocate nearby.

“They decided not to move to the area,” Colby said.

Colby confirmed the board will start over on the search.

“One person was brought to the board that was approved,” she said, “so we basically have to start over again.”

Colby explained how the human resources department oversees the process, which involves various sets of people involved in different stages, such as interviewing.

“At the end, the recommendation comes to the board,” she said.

Colby said she is not concerned about timing since the district started the process so early with hopes of having the new principal work with McKowen during a transition.

“We had done this in an early time frame, which might have been why we didn’t have a large pool (of candidates),” Colby said.

Principal Hiring Timeline  

Edjoin Posting – ASJUSD website                     March 13 – April 3 (3 weeks)

Paper Screening                                                   April 4, 2019

1^st Round Interviews                                           April 10, 2019

Reference Checks                                                 April 11 – 15, 2019

2^nd Interview                                                        April 17, 2019

Tentative Offer to Candidate                              April 18, 2019

Site Visit                                                                 April 29, 2019

Board Approval Date:                                          May 8, 2019

Source: District Website