EVSC Close to a Hire?

Dr. Vince Bertram is getting up close and personal with the EVSC school board and students and teachers at three corporation schools. Its the most extensive contact a candidate for the superintendents job has had with the community, and Bertram says hes interested in learning more about the place he hopes to soon call home. Bertram is the only candidate being considered right now by the school board, and the first candidate interviewed since the board reopened its search last month. The new search criteria call for interviewing just one candidate at a time, focusing only on that candidate until a decision is made to either hire, or pass over him or her. That is different than the way the original search was conducted. During January and February, several dozen candidates were brought in, and a pool of finalists was eventually narrowed to 6, then 2. In that first search, one finalist dropped out, and the other, current interim superintendent Bob Yeager, was passed over. Bertrams Friday tour of Culver, Glenwood, and Bosse was preceded by interviews with both the school board and the community advisory panel, made up of local business and trade professionals. Bertram was also allowed to meet with reporters, a first for the interview process. He says the EVSC faces challenges that are "not unique to Evansville." Bertram says he begin his tenure as superintendent by focusing on the achievement gap between white and minority students, and high school drop out rates. He also says he would open his door to input from the ground up, listening closely to parents and teachers to find out their views on moving the school corporation forward. "Part of decision making is having the right information," Bertram said. "Making informed decisions is when we make decision based on great information."