The Fayette County Board of Education has narrowed down to three the field of candidates in its search for a superintendent.
One familiar name is on the list--Lyn Wenzel, a former assistant superintendent with the Fayette County Public Schools who took a state job last year. The other candidates are from out of state--Jeffrey Byron Bearden and Roy "Cole" Pugh.
The school board interviewed candidates last week. The announcement of these three finalists is required by state law. Their applications are available to the public at the Fayette County Board of Education office at 210 Stonewall Avenue West in Fayetteville. The public will have two weeks to review the applications and submit comments, and the board will choose from this list of finalists at a future meeting. Deputy Superintendent Fred Oliver, who is serving as interim superintendent, did not apply for the job.
For the past three years, Bearden has been superintendent of Maine School District 35, with serves the cities of Eliot and South Berwick in the southern part of the state. He also works part-time as an adjunct professor with Nova Southeastern University. He has been a teacher and administrator in Maine since 1984. In his application, Bearden explains his interest in moving to Georgia: He is a 1980 graduate of Bremen High School and his parents live in Fayette County. He served in the United States Air Force and was stationed at Loring Air Force Base in Maine before beginning his career in education.
In his application, Bearden states that while the Fayette school system is much larger than the district he currently heads, they share many similarities. "Like Fayette County, my district is incredibly efficient. We are in the bottom 25 percent in our state in average per pupil spending, yet our students consistently score in the top 10 percent in all content areas on our state assessment."
Pugh was until recently superintendent of the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District in Fort Worth, Texas. He resigned from that job with one year left on his contract. Since 1983, Pugh has been superintendent of seven school districts in Texas. In his letter of application to the Georgia School Boards Association, Pugh says he has "a proven record of making sound recommendations for school improvement with the primary focus being on what is best for students. These recommendations have related to curriculum, school finance, personnel, facility needs and other areas of school operation."
Wenzel is currently a state director with The Georgia Department of Education. She served as assistant superintendent in Fayette from 2005 to 2009 and was curriculum director for three years before that. She was principal at J.C. Booth Middle School for five years and an assistant principal at Flat Rock Middle School for seven years.
On her application, Wenzel says her long commitment to education in Fayette County would make her an ideal superintendent here. "My heart belongs to Fayette County Schools and that deep level of emotional attachment translates to a laser-like focus on the success of the organization, the student and families we serve and the community."
|
