The Austin School Board meets Tuesday night to chose an interim superintendent to replace James Hess, who resigned to take a position in Colorado this week.

Monday, July 02, 2001

The Austin School Board meets Tuesday night to chose an interim superintendent to replace James Hess, who resigned to take a position in Colorado this week.

Candace Raskin, principal at Banfield Elementary School, and Corrine Johnson, superintendent of the Onamia School District, interviewed before the board on Thursday.

Even though the position is an interim appointment, Johnson has expressed her desire to make it more permanent.

"We definitely are hiring an interim for now, but we also know if this person works out, and we want to extend a contract at the end of the year, we are able to do so, and save the district some money without having to go through a search again," board member Bruce Loveland said.

On the other hand, he continued, "We would want to make sure that we have the best possible candidate for the district."

Board member Amy Baskin, who has been absent from the final stages of the interview process, is expected to be present for the final vote. She is making her decision with the aid of recordings of the candidate interviews, but at least one board member does not approve of her absence.

"I think its pretty hard to be objective if you haven’t met this person, if you haven’t been a part of this process," Loveland said. "I question if listening to an audio tape is sufficient to base a good decision on. I question weather its ethical or not for Amy to make a decision without having met one of the candidates."

The board will meet at 4 p.m. at its new offices at Austin High School.

Call Sam Garchik at 434-2233 or e-mail him at newsroom@austindailyherald.com.