POLSON — A meeting to update the public about the Polson School District superintendent search was held on Nov. 17 in the Linderman Elementary library. The meeting informed those in attendance of results calculated from surveys solicited to the public in regards to the search for a new superintendent.

Superintendent of Polson School District Sue McCormick is resigning and the search committee began the replacement process by issuing a massive call for input from the Polson community. The committee made a survey available to the public for four weeks and reported the results during the meeting. 

The survey interviewed 29 Polson community members, 18 Polson School District parents, 56 Polson School District staff members and no students participated in the survey.

During a Polson Public Schools special board meeting last Monday, no public comment was given on the search or survey results.

The survey asked participants to identify Polson School District’s strengths, challenges and weaknesses or changes that should be implemented within the District. Those surveyed also identified core competencies and important skills found in a fitting superintendent candidate. The committee’s presentation offered the top ten answers reported in each category.

Participants ranked the degree of importance between a superintendent candidate’s abilities. Of those surveyed, 49 participants claimed that a candidate’s most important attribute would be an understanding of school finance, budgets and business management.  The participants also indicated that a superintendent candidate must understand how to provide a safe environment for students and staff.

The superintendent opening has been posted on the Montana School Boards Association and the School Administrators of Montana websites. Applications are currently available, and so far, 25 application packets have been requested and sent to appropriate candidates. The application packets are due by Dec. 5 and the superintendent search committee will meet on Dec. 17 to select the finalists. The committee will interview the selected candidates in January.    

The complete survey results can be viewed on the Polson School District’s website, www.polson.k12.us.mt

At the special meeting on Monday, the board trustees also addressed the issue of media in schools, discussing the best way for administrators, board trustees and the superintendent to communicate so students’ privacy is protected when dealing with requests for student interviews by outside media organizations. The discussion stemmed from a KPAX television station report that featured Polson High School students talking about drug use and availability in the area.

Trustee Vernon Finley led a discussion about perceived barriers throughout the school system. Vernon noted that alternative perspectives within a community, in particular a community with a large Native America population, can often be ignored. Finley said he wants to start a dialogue that looks at school policies as barriers to different perspective. The biggest threat to perspectives is when policies are put in place to be barriers, Finley said. Also important, is to make sure objections to policies seen as barriers by people with different perspectives are dealt with fairly, Finley said.

A personnel report was also presented at the meeting.