TISD to name lone finalist for superintendent - KYTX CBS 19 Tyler Longview News Weather Sports

TYLER (TYLER MORNING TELEGRAPH) - Tyler ISD expects to name a lone finalist for its superintendent position next week, district officials said.

District spokeswoman Dawn Parnell said three people have applied for the position since it was declared open last month.

All applicants are in Texas and no interviews have been conducted yet, Ms. Parnell said.

Interim Superintendent Gary Mooring, who has worked as a superintendent in two Texas school districts, is one of the three people applying for the job.

Mooring previously said he is interested in the position because he's grown to appreciate the camaraderie of working with the district staff and is interested in facing the challenges in TISD and education as a whole.

Although the district's Department of Human Resources is facilitating the search, it is the board of trustees that will conduct any interviews and select the next superintendent, Ms. Parnell said.

The board will evaluate all resumes after the application deadline, which is Saturday. She then expects them to name the lone finalist early next week.

After that, the district must wait the required 21 days before officially hiring the person.

This superintendent search differs from the previous two — in 2007 and 2002 — in that TISD opted to go without a search firm.

Board vice president the Rev. Orenthia Mason previously said given the timing of the search and the fact that most superintendents are locked into contracts at this time, trustees decided this was the best way to go.

School district attorney John Hardy said during the November board meeting that the job opening would be posted for the required 10 days on the school district website, at the district administration building and at each of the district's campuses.

At that meeting, TISD trustees gave high praise to Mooring, who has been serving in the interim superintendent position since August, when former Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid left for Keller ISD.

Board members said they were pleased with Mooring's work specifically praising his community engagement, stability and maturity, and his experience networking with area higher education institutions, among other qualities.

However, Hardy said despite the board's pleasure with Mooring's leadership, the district had not selected a superintendent and would consider all submitted applications.