Tacoma School Board members are set to pick an interim superintendent in two days.
But they won’t tell the public who their choice is until they vote to hire that person Thursday evening.
And they won’t reveal the names of the other three finalists.
The secrecy is necessary to protect the confidentiality of good candidates who might not have applied for the job if their names were known, board President Connie Rickman said Monday.
That strategy is legal, assistant state attorney general Tim Ford said. But he also said there are ways the district could release the finalists’ names.
The person the board selects is expected to run the 29,000-student school system for up to a year while board members seek a permanent replacement for Charlie Milligan.
“One of the things we promised was that we would keep their anonymity because of their high profile,” Rickman said. “Only one of four can get the job.”
The post pays $185,000 a year, plus benefits.
Board members reviewed all 12 applications during a closed-door executive session last week, then picked four finalists during an open meeting that followed.
They assigned numbers to the 12 applicants and voted on their finalists by number, rather than name.
Revealing or keeping confidential the names of public job applicants is a somewhat murky area of law where the state’s open government laws appear to conflict.
Ford, whose specialty is promoting openness in government, said:
• The state Public Records Act does not require an agency to release the names of job candidates, but names can be released if applicants were given notice when they applied or they later gave permission.
• Applicants who don’t want their names released have legal grounds to challenge a decision to make them public.
• The Open Meetings Act allows, but does not require, public agencies to interview candidates in closed session. But since there’s little case law on the meetings act, Ford wasn’t certain whether all the finalist names could be disclosed in public without their permission.
• If the board wanted to divulge the identities of candidates for the interim superintendent job, it probably needed to let prospective applicants know that.
Ford acknowledged that conducting candidate interviews in open sessions could discourage some people from applying.
But he took issue with the by-the-number vote to select finalists during a public meeting.
“If they’re going to take a vote in the open, but the public doesn’t know who it is they’re voting on, how open is it?” he asked. “It’s still a secret vote because you don’t know the names.”
Board member Debbie Winskill, who’s coordinating the selection process and making reference checks on the finalists, confirmed Monday that the original pool comprised of one applicant from Tacoma, six from other places in Washington and five from out of state. Two of those were from California.
The board won’t release details about the finalists’ backgrounds, Rickman said.
It’s common practice for school boards to announce the names of finalists for superintendent positions and conduct public meet-and-greet sessions and interviews.
That was done when Milligan was hired in the spring of 2006. He and the board agreed June 21 that he would leave the district by mutual agreement after only a year on the job.
That left a very short timeline for soliciting candidates, winnowing the pool and picking an interim superintendent who can be on the job by Aug. 1. Board members want a leader to have some time on the job before the school year begins Sept. 5, Rickman said.
There wasn’t time for a public vetting of the finalists, Rickman said.
Ford still thinks the board could have acted more openly. Board members could ask for the finalists’ permission to release their names. And the board’s vote on the anonymous finalists did “not meet the spirit of the Open Meetings Act and keeping the public informed,” he said.
Rickman said she and the board believe there’s a difference between a search for an interim superintendent and the quest for a permanent CEO.
“We want someone who can come in and fill in for a year so that we have the time to do a really, good thorough search,” Rickman said.
She promised the quest for a permanent superintendent will include public interviews of finalists.
The quick selection process for an interim leader won’t prevent the district from getting someone who’s up to the challenge, Rickman said.
“We’re looking at quality, and we’re looking at character and somebody who wants to do their best for kids and has a good track record,” she said.
What’s next
The Tacoma School Board is scheduled to continue its process to select and vote on an interim superintendent during two meetings this week:
• 11 a.m. Wednesday , a closed-door executive session to interview candidates and talk about their qualifications
• 6 p.m. Thursday, a regular, public meeting in the fourth floor board room at school district headquarters, 601 S. Eighth St. The board is expected to vote on appointing an interim superintendent.
Kris Sherman: 253-597-8659
kris.sherman@thenewstribune.com
Debby Abe: 253-597-8694
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