Only three candidates remain in the search for the next superintendent of Niles Community Schools.

The board of education Thursday voted to bring back for a second round of interviews the following three finalists:

• Michael Pettibone, retired superintendent of Adams Central Community Schools in Monroe, Indiana

• Christopher Daughtry, superintendent of Central Noble Community Schools in Albion, Indiana

• Daniel Applegate, assessment and accreditation coordinator at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana

The board started with 23 candidates and interviewed six finalists this week.

“We were very fortunate to have a great pool of candidates with a proven track record,” said Greg O’Toole, board president. “The difficulty of any board is finding the best match of the person’s skillset and the needs of the district.”

Board member Brent Wright was critical of the process the board used to determine the three finalists.

He said they had agreed earlier to vote for their top three and choose the two candidates with the most votes to move on to the second round of interviews.

What happened Thursday was different.

Pettibone, Daughtry and Applegate received almost all of the votes, clearly showing that the board favored those three above the others. Pettibone had seven votes, Daughtry six and Applegate five.

O’Toole suggested because it was so close that they bring back all three for the second round of interviews — a move agreed to vocally by

several board members. The only one to express opposition was Wright, who said changing the process might look bad to the public.

“Now that we don’t like the outcome, we change things,” he said.

Board member Jon Martin said the process was flawed because it did not reflect the top choice by each board member — just who fell in their top three. For instance, Martin said his third choice was Pettibone, meaning if they had just voted for their top two, Pettibone would not have received his vote.

There was some discussion about having everyone vote again and just choose their top two, but the board ultimately decided to bring all three back for a second round of interviews.

Wright said while he didn’t like it, he would go with what the rest of the board wanted to do.

Board members then explained why they chose who they did with the majority saying Daughtry and Applegate were the candidates most likely to stick with the job for many years — a factor the board weighed heavily.

“I’d like to hire someone that will be here for at least a 10-year period because traditionally that’s what Niles had,” said board member Dana Daniels.

“What we need is stability and the ability for people to do what they are empowered to do without this concern of — what happens in three years?” said Martin.

While that isn’t true of Pettibone, who indicated he would like to work for three to five years, several board members said they were impressed by the breadth of his experience and leadership style conveyed in Thursday’s interview.

“He has a lot of accolades and he’s a really strong individual and a smart individual,” O’Toole said. “From that perspective I think he’d be a great person to help build the future superintendent that we may end up having to have in the future. He could bring somebody in under his wing and maybe in that short time build a stronger base and a stronger superintendent so we don’t have to go through this process again and just have a natural succession.”

 

Meet the candidates

The finalists will begin the second round of interviews next week. Each candidate will go through the same process, which is as follows:

10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. — Tour the district

* 3 to 3:30 p.m. — Public meet and greet

*3:30 to 4:30 p.m. — NCS employees meet and greet

*4:30 to 5 p.m. — Public meet and greet

* This is an informal meet and greet and all of the sessions will be in the board room at Westside Administrative Center, 111 Spruce St., Niles. All are encouraged to attend as it is an opportunity for the community to ask questions and get to know the candidates.

5 to 6 p.m. — Dinner with the board of education

6 p.m. — Second interview by the board of education at Westside

Pettibone will go through the process Monday, Jan. 12, while Applegate will go Wednesday, Jan. 14 and Daughtry Thursday, Jan. 15.

Interim Supt. Michael Lindley advised the board to narrow the list down to two by the end of the second round of interviews Thursday.

After the second round of interviews, a team of district and community stakeholders will visit the remaining candidates’ communities to continue the process of finding the right person for the job.

O’Toole thanked Lindley for his assistance in facilitating the search.

“He’s been our guiding light in this by setting this up and organizing the search process and bringing us to the table at this point,” O’Toole said. “It is greatly appreciated by all here.”

Lindley came on as interim after former Supt. Richard Weigel resigned in February.

 

Wrapping up the first round

Prior to selecting the three finalists Thursday, the board conducted its final pair of first-round interviews with Pettibone and Monte Moffett, an assistant superintendent at Duneland School Corporation in Chesterton, Indiana.

Pettibone has worked in every aspect of education from teacher to coach to principal and superintendent.

He retired in June 2013 after spending 11 years as superintendent at Adams Central Community Schools. He also spent 23 years at Plymouth Community Schools in Plymouth where he taught, coached and was a principal. After that, Pettibone spent three years at South Bend Community Schools where he was principal at Wilson Elementary and Clay High School.

He said he wants to come out of retirement because he found out 60 is not old and that he still has a lot to give to a district like Niles.

“I would love the opportunity to come in and bring those experiences I have and also serve a role as a coach, mentor to an aspiring group of young administrators and help build that transition to the next level,” Pettibone said.