Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Principal search continues

Back to the drawing board in hunt for high school boss

Gerald Garner Jr. El Defensor Chieftain Editor

It's back to the drawing board for Socorro Consolidated Schools officials in their ongoing search to fill the vacant Socorro High School principal post.

Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Wilson said Monday, June 15, that the three finalists she was considering did not pan out.

"The three candidates we interviewed have either accepted other employment or reference checks revealed they would not be a great fit for Socorro High at this time," Wilson said.

Those candidates included Rod Pruitt of Dulce, Claudia Krause-Johnson of Los Lunas and Jim Reed of Texas.

Wilson said she and members of the principal search team will now go back to the original pool of 18 applicants to see if they can find the right fit.

"There were 18 candidates in the applicant pool. So I have left word with the next two candidates that we would like to interview them," Wilson said.

The superintendent — who was conducting business outside of the district until Wednesday, said because the high school is in Corrective Action status, experience as a school administrator will be a determining factor.

"Because Socorro High is in Corrective Action according to the No Child Left Behind act, we can only consider candidates with principal experience," she said.

While that criteria further whittled the number of eligible candidates, Wilson said there's still a wealth of talent to choose from.

"There are several experienced candidates for us to interview," she added.

Unlike the previous finalists, it's unclear whether or not the community will get the chance to meet the candidates when they interview.

"I've only heard back from one candidate so far and we'll have to due a telephone interview on June 22," Wilson said. "I expect to hear from the other candidate (Wednesday) when I return to town."

Tom Trujillo, who announced his resignation this spring, held the principal's post for the past couple of years.

ggarner@dchieftain.com

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