The second round of interviews for Vermont’s next secretary of education starts next week.
The search committee, made up of four State Board of Education members, plans to select three finalists for the position by Sept. 1. That gives Gov. Peter Shumlin, who makes the final pick, a few months to consider the candidates.
The committee, which has already conducted one round of phone interviews, met Thursday to discuss reference checks for the candidates and plan for “live” interviews next week.
Shumlin has already had a hand in the process, according to Stephan Morse, who chairs the state board and sits on the search committee. Shumlin has made a “very positive contribution,” Morse said, by deciding to step into the earlier stages of search process.
“The governor has used his channels nationally to try to encourage people to apply,” Morse said.
The search committee struggled last year to drum up interest in the position beyond the state’s border. Shumlin chose Armando Vilaseca, the then-commissioner of education, to serve as secretary, but only for one year. The other two candidates were Vermont school superintendents.
Morse thinks part of the problem had to with the fact that the names of the three finalists were disclosed, potentially alerting their employers. This time, the board is keeping those names under wraps.
It’s also possible that the salary for the post has been a deterrent. Vilaseca makes $121,700. The salary was increased to $124,009 for Fiscal Year 2014.
“I think it’s recognized on a national level as being on the low side,” Morse said. “Certainly there are superintendents that make more than what (agency) secretaries make,” he added. By way of comparison, the Chittenden South Superintendent Elaine Pinckney made $153,682 in 2012-2013 budget year.
Morse said that while he thought the board found some strong applicants last year, “I think we have even better candidates this time.”
The applicant pool did not grow dramatically, however. Morse didn’t know the number of applications off hand, but estimated it was in the 20s. Last year, he estimated the board received between 20 and 25 applications.
