Although the deadline to apply for the vacant Russellville City Schools Superintendent of Education came three weeks ago, the Russellville City Board of Education is remaining tight-lipped about every phase of the process.
Superintendent Heath Grimes announced last year he would be retiring from the position on June 21, 2024. The board approved the job posting to begin on January 31, 2024, and run through March 1, 2024.
The Franklin Free Press has spoken with RCS Board President Greg Trapp on multiple occasions since March 1st and Trapp has offered no information as to the number of applications received, when and by whom applications would be reviewed, or when or if in-person interviews would begin.
The board conducted a work session the afternoon of Monday, March 18th, with its March business meeting set for the following day, Tuesday, March 19th, at 8:30 a.m.
On Thursday, Trapp told the FFP he did not expect the board to approve a new superintendent at its March 19th meeting.
“We have a work session Monday, where the board will discuss the candidates they want for this job,” Trapp said. “There could be interviews after that if that's what the board decides to do. We'll work it all out Monday, but as far as (hiring a new superintendent), we've not got that far yet.”
The vacant superintendent's position was not discussed at Monday's work session, although the board voted to go into executive session at the end of the work session. There was no reason stated for why an executive session was needed.
The FFP spoke with three different sources who said board members met on Thursday, March 14th and Friday, March 15th, at the office of board attorney Danny McDowell in downtown Russellville, to meet with superintendent candidates.
Two of those sources stated that board members and/or McDowell, in some capacity, met with four in-system candidates for superintendent at McDowell's office. Additionally, according to the sources, board members met with at least one out-of-system candidate at McDowell's office.
Although he did not offer specifics about what occurred at the board attorney's office, Trapp confirmed that no superintendent interviews took place.
“No one has sat down with the board of education,” Trapp said. “That hasn't happened at all. The process has started. We're looking for candidates. I don't know any other way to say it.”
The FFP contacted McDowell to inquire about board members meeting at his office two days last week.
“If your question is about board business, I believe the board is the appropriate one to comment on that,” McDowell said.
The search for a new superintendent follows less than a month after the RCS board hired Dustin Goodwin as the new varsity football coach at Russellville High School.
The coaching search, led by RHS Principal Jeremy Madden and Grimes, narrowed to three finalists, who were each discussed at a board work session. No hiring recommendation came at the board's February meeting the next day, though. Instead, Grimes recommended Goodwin for the job at a special called meeting the following Friday.
All personnel moves approved by the RCS Board must come from recommendations by the superintendent, with the lone exception being the superintendent position itself.
The final days of the coaching search saw the local community very active making social media posts and contacting board members about which candidate should be hired.
The FFP published the names of the five candidates who were interviewed. Those five were narrowed to three finalists and Madden presented the board with an informational Power Point presentation on each at a work session.
Trapp said the board is 'confident' it is in compliance with Alabama law regarding the Open Meetings Act and that the board is not conducting serial interviews, where candidates meet with board members in a 2-2-1 format. Serial meetings are illegal under Alabama law because they are seen as a way to circumvent the Open Meetings Act.
Alabama Code Section 36-25a-2(13b2) states that a serial meeting does NOT include a series of gatherings related to a search to fill a position required to file a statement of economic interest with the Alabama Ethics Commission pursuant to Section 36-25-14 until the search has been narrowed to three or fewer persons under consideration.
So as long as the board does not deliberate or poll its members as to which candidate should be hired, meetings like those that took place at McDowell’s office do not violate the Open Meetings Act.
Trapp said candidates were 'not meeting with multiple (board members) in multiple rooms' at McDowell's office.
“We're not going into this trying to break any law. We're trying to be respectful for everybody who showed interest, especially internal candidates,” Trapp said. “When we get this down to who the finalists are for this, we'll probably have something to say at this point, but right now, nobody knows.
“We're confident after meeting with our board attorney we are complying with all Alabama law. He says we're not doing anything wrong. We've got several internal candidates we owe it to to at least talk with them and that can't be done in a public setting. Some of them don't want their names mentioned if they are not going to be a finalist,” Trapp added.
Trapp further stated this superintendent search is 'the same process as was done in prior superintendent interviews.'
“We talk to people, then decide who the most qualified people are to pursue as superintendent and that's what we're trying to do now,” he said.
A key issue as to what information, if any, the board must release to the public, revolves around whether the board's actions at McDowell's office constitute interviews.
Alabama law requires any superintendent applicant interview to be conducted in public, at a meeting, with prior notice of the meeting time, place and agenda given.
Again, Trapp said no interviews have taken place. Trapp further said it would be up to the board to determine whether it wants to interview certain applicants.
McDowell said there is no requirement for the board to conduct interviews before hiring a new superintendent. But if there are interviews, they must be done in a public setting.
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