San Benito mulls superintendent candidates
Aug. 17—SAN BENITO — After a month-long search, school board members might pick the district's new superintendent on Thursday.
During a meeting, board members are set to interview candidates to replace former Superintendent Nate Carman, who resigned in March after about five years on the job.
After conducting interviews, trustees are expected to discuss candidates, according to the meeting's agenda.
Following a closed-session meeting, board members might pick a finalist for the job, the agenda states.
State law prohibits the district from releasing applicants' names until board members name their finalist, district spokeswoman Isabel Gonzalez stated Wednesday.
Search debated
The selection process comes after months of debate.
Since March, board members have discussed launching a search for a superintendent.
In April, they were considering hiring the Texas Association of School Boards to the conduct the search for $7,800.
Later that month, trustees discussed opening the search to other firms.
Then last month, the board's majority voted to launch the search based on President Ramiro Moreno's proposal to advertise locally for applicants to "expedite" the selection as the new school year was opening.
Job qualifications
On July 19, officials posted an advertisement on the district's website listing qualifications including a master's degree in education administration, five years' experience in school administration and a Texas superintendent's certification along with certification through the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Teachers Evaluation Support System.
"The superintendent shall be the chief executive officer of the district and shall be responsible for the effective execution of Texas education codes and policies adopted by the local board," the advertisement stated. "The superintendent shall be responsible for the administration of all district operations and shall assign personnel responsibilities."
The job's duties include developing "goals and objectives for the district," "regular evaluation of all programs and operations to determine improvements," "policies on organization, finance, instructional programs, personnel, school plant and related functions of the district appropriate to the enhancement of effective educational programs," "attitude of unity and harmony within the school board," "administrative procedures and regulations for the management of school operations" and "all financial accounting and ensures that funds are managed and controlled effectively."
Background
In March, Carman resigned to take a job with the Soccoro school district, with nearly 50,000 students.
Later that month, the board's majority selected Theresa Servellon, a former longtime San Benito administrator and principal who had previously served as the South San Antonio school district's chief academic officer, to serve as interim superintendent.
In 2017, the past school board hired Carman after a search firm produced a pool of 50 applicants.
In 2019, the board signed Carman to a four-year contract paying an annual salary of $202,776 along with a $1,800 monthly stipend.
