The Cordova School District Board of Education is encouraging the public to give input on what they want out of a new superintendent.
The district – which hired the Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB) to help conduct the superintendent search – released a survey this fall to gather local input. Survey questions ask participants the professional skills and specific experience they’re looking for, and what’s most important for the new superintendent to know about the Cordova community.
The survey is available at cordovasd.org, and responses are due on Nov. 30.
“I think it’s a very important part of this process,” school board President Dave Glasen said during the October meeting.
According to current Superintendent Alex Russin, since AASB is administering the survey, the Cordova City School District won’t have access to the responses until after the portal closes.
Russin announced in July he’d be retiring at the end of the current school year, after 11 years at the Cordova School District.
“I am especially thankful to the Cordova School District Board of Education, along with the staff and community as a whole, who have shown their support since my arrival in the summer of 2015,” he said in his retirement announcement.
He has not publicly announced what he’ll be doing after his retirement next spring.
“In fact, I’m looking forward to not having a need for plans,” Russin told The Cordova Times this week.
Russin and the board members continued to encourage input on the new superintendent during the Nov. 18 school board meeting. Those meetings are now available to stream on YouTube, by searching @CordovaSchoolDistrictMeetings.
Applications for the superintendent position are due to AASB on Dec. 19.
The Cordova School Board is set to choose finalists by Jan. 3, and those finalists are scheduled to meet the Cordova community in person from Jan. 18-20.
