Lineup set for Sumter School District superintendent finalists' visits
Public invited to receptions to meet candidates Monday through Thursday nights
Sumter School District has finalized the schedule next week for all four superintendent finalists' day in the district, and the public is invited to attend a reception each night to meet the candidates.
The district completed the schedule with the assistance of its search consultant in the process - the South Carolina School Boards Association - and the itinerary includes meeting numerous administrators and teachers, a tour of schools and a final interview with the full school board.
Each finalist's day to visit the district will be: Sam Whack Jr. (Monday), David Laws Jr. (Tuesday), William Wright (Wednesday) and MiUndrae Prince (Thursday).
A community reception will be held each night from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Sumter High School Commons Area for the public to meet and talk briefly with each candidate.
After the receptions, the trustees will begin a board meeting each night at 7 p.m. at Sumter High before going into executive session behind closed doors to conduct the final interview of each finalist.
Those interviews will begin about 7:15 p.m. each night. Monday's executive session will likely start a little later because it is the board's regularly scheduled monthly work session and there will be a couple necessary agenda items to cover, according to a district spokeswoman.
Three of the four finalists hold administrator-level positions in other school districts, while Laws has been the local district's director of career and technical education and instructional technology for the last seven years.
Whack has been deputy superintendent for administration and instruction in Jasper County School District in the Lowcountry for two years.
Wright, the lone finalist with superintendent-level experience, is the district leader for Hertford County Public Schools in northeastern North Carolina. He has held that post since 2015.
Prince is executive director of schools for Columbia-based Richland County School District One and has also held his post since 2015.
The board and district plan to announce the new superintendent in early May. The scheduled start date for the next superintendent is July 1. Outgoing Superintendent Penelope Martin-Knox's contract ends June 30.