New Hanover County Schools takes step toward replacing fired superintendent

After firing its top educator, the New Hanover County Board of Education is working to develop a plan for finding his replacement – both for the short and long terms.

On Tuesday – exactly two weeks after the board voted on July 2 to fire then-Superintendent Charles Foust – the board held a special meeting, in part to discuss how it would go about selecting its next superintendent.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the board voted to also conduct a search for an interim superintendent to hold the position while the search for a permanent replacement is under way – despite naming Chris Barnes, the district’s assistant superintendent of human resources, as acting superintendent immediately following Foust’s firing.

Barnes said he contacted the North Carolina School Boards Association last week for guidance on the impending superintendent search process. Barnes recommended the board conduct a “comprehensive, nationwide, external search” for a new superintendent.

Barnes also recommended the board conduct the search using a search firm, because it would have a greater reach and the resources necessary for a nationwide search. Some firms, he said, have already reached out to offer their services. He suggested district staff could solicit information from search firms before coming back to the board with a cost analysis and recommendation.

Before considering a permanent superintendent search process, however, board member Stephanie Kraybill suggested the board decide on a plan for filling the role in the short term with an interim superintendent.

“… We have a school district that we need to run right now and we need to have the best, most qualified people sitting in that seat,” Kraybill said.

Kraybill suggested using the NCSBA as a resource to assist with a search for an interim superintendent.

“We skipped over that conversation, so I wanted to… make my opinion known that I think we need to have a discussion about the interim, and my recommendation would be to interview several candidates – internal and external – to make sure that we are getting what we need to right our ship,” Kraybill said.

The board decided to move forward with initiating a search for an interim superintendent by soliciting names of interested candidates from the NCSBA.

Following a roughly two-hour closed session meeting, the Board Chairman Pete Wildeboer detailed that the board would contact NCSBA regarding the search for an interim superintendent, gather names of candidates, determine criteria and conduct interviews in an expedited process.

Describing the position as "very, very key" for the division, Wildeboer said the board would look to name an interim superintendent by the Aug. 6 board meeting.

Foust’s contract to be paid out, amount presently undisclosed

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the board unanimously voted to payout Foust’s contract, as the contract outlines.

The superintendent's salary is $225,000, according to Foust's contract, and under the contract, Foust agreed and accepted that the board may unilaterally terminate his contract. The board will have to pay the salary he would have earned under his contract for a year from the date of termination.

The board said it would disclose to the public the exact amount paid out at a later date.

Reach reporter Jamey Cross at jbcross@gannett.com.