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School board to continue superintendent search

The Clovis Municipal Schools board of education decided Tuesday to continue searching for the next superintendent.

The decision came after an hour-and-a-half executive session at Cameo Elementary.

The board said they will continue to “aggressively search for the position of superintendent of schools during the next three months.”

Three finalists were being considered for the position:

• Fort Sumner Superintendent Patricia Miller;

• Douglas (Ariz.) Unified School District Superintendent Earl Pettit;

• and Clovis Deputy Superintendent of Operations Joel Shirley.

A fourth finalist, Texico Superintendent R.L. Richards, withdrew from consideration earlier this month.

Current Clovis superintendent Rhonda Seidenwurm announced in January that this would be her last year with the district after five years.

President Mark Lansford said the board is not comfortable making a decision at this time.

“We’re going to look at options, which could include looking at an outside search firm and retracing our steps,” Lansford said.

Lansford said he wouldn’t give a more specific reason why the board didn’t chose a successor, citing privacy concerns.

The board’s proposed timeline for hiring a new superintendent had the board slated to choose by Wednesday.

In other business Tuesday, the board:

• Approved the purchase of an activity school bus for $157,500 from Tillery Bus Sales in Moriarty. Shirley said the bus will be used for any activity group. Shirley said state regulations require the district to retire a bus after 20 years. He said two activity buses will hit the 20-year mark next year. He said money to purchase the bus come from the Legislature.

• Approved a request for bid for $71,250 worth of LED lighting for the district’s central office with Your LED Solutions. Shirley said the energy-efficient lighting will be paid for with grant money from the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.

He said the district can also apply for energy efficient rebates for installing the lights. The Clovis schools maintenance staff will replace the fixtures and lights, he said.

 
 
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