Sonora, CA — The search is on for a new superintendent to lead Sonora Union High School District and the district has called a special meeting to deal with other pressing business.
As reported here, back in February, Superintendent Dr. Mark Miller told Clarke Broadcasting that he and the district “agreed to part ways” and that a process would be set in place to select his replacement. This morning, the trustees indicated they are now planning to appoint an interview panel to assist with assessing the finalists for the position as well as to provide them with input.
The board has extended an open invitation to interested community members to apply for a seat on the interview panel, which will be made up of five district employees, five community members and one student.
Application forms may be obtained from the district office and must be completed and submitted back no later than Thursday, April 16 by 4 p.m.
Unless rescheduled due to the COVID-19 emergency, the panel will on May 11-12 meet with and provide the board an assessment of each candidate but not rank or determine which candidates to be interviewed by the board. Panel members need to be available both days for several hours. Each will be required to sign a confidentiality statement and abide by all conditions therein.
Those with questions about the interview panel or the application process should contact Kim Evans in the SUHSD Human Resources office at 209-533-0423, ext. 5 or at kevans@sonorahs.k12.ca.us.
Special Session Scheduled On Thursday
With regard to a special session slated for Thursday, just ahead of the public meeting, the trustees will at 1 p.m. in closed session discuss executing a proposed interim chief business official (CBO) agreement due to the resignation of Dana Vaccarezza.
According to the meeting notes, the draft contract, which would approve naming Kenneth “Duane” Wolgamott to the temporary post until a permanent replacement is found, indicates total payment through the end of June for an amount not to exceed $25,000 at an hourly consulting rate of $75/hour onsite and $50//hour from his home office.
At 1:20 the meeting will open to the public. Among the action items are an emergency COVID-19 resolution delegating temporary expanded authoritative powers for necessary actions during the crisis, and approving a revised required signatures document.
The agenda contains a warning by health officials recommending against large gatherings, further specifying that anyone who attends meetings in person does so at their own risk. District officials say it will be possible to remotely access the meeting by clicking here. It appears that the interface requires signing on through Google, which for those without a Gmail account would require signing up for one, which can be done for free.
Public comment can be made by attending the meeting in person or by emailing your public comment to ccostello@sonorahs.k12.ca.us before noon Thursday.