Search goes on for Roettger's replacement

CHENEY – The Cheney School District (CSD) is in the middle of its search for superintendent Rob Roettger’s replacement. Roettger has formally accepted a new position as superintendent of NorthEast Washington Educational Service District (NEW-ESD 101).

It’s up to the school board to select CSD’s newest leader.

“The board of directors will be the ones handling the hiring process,” Jamie Weingart, finance director, said.

The job vacancy is posted on traditional online job boards such as LinkedIn and Indeed. But, the best place where applicants can find the listing, Weingart said, is on the Washington Association for School Administrators (WASA).

“WASA is basically the Washington superintendent’s network group and anyone in the state of Washington looking for a superintendent job knows that all jobs are going to post there,” Weingart said.

WASA also uses its network to reach out to specific people who have been looking for or have expressed interest in becoming a superintendent. After the job posting closes on April 10 and all of the applications are collected, WASA will sort through them and make their recommendations for the final candidates. Weingart said the school board is hosting an executive session on April 11 to review applicants and decide who will proceed to the next round of interviews.

Those selected will experience interviews that include sit-down meetings with the school board and public forums where superintendent hopefuls will speak in front of Cheney community members, including parents, students, and teachers.

“The tentative plan right now is that we would have three finalist interviews on April 19, 20, and 21,” Weingart said. “Each of those evenings, there would be a community forum where the community could come in and ask questions of those candidates.”

Weingart said the school board would use each candidate’s responses during the public portion of the interview process to judge the public’s reaction in hopes they can hire someone that represents the community at large. The new superintendent will be announced after the final stretch of interviews on April 22.