Linn-Mar school board to interview superintendent candidates

MARION - The Linn-Mar school board will interview candidates for its superintendent position over the next week and hopes to have a new superintendent hired around Thanksgiving, current superintendent Katie Mulholland said Thursday.

The board will conduct an initial round of interviews Friday and Saturday before interviewing three finalists a second time next week, according to agendas for the Friday and Saturday meetings.

Mulholland said the district hopes to make an offer around the Thanksgiving holiday and announce the new superintendent shortly thereafter. The search is completely confidential, Mulholland said, to give candidates more freedom to apply without fear of losing their current jobs. She said she did not know who any of the candidates are.

Linn-Mar's search for a new superintendent comes after Mulholland announced her retirement in July. The board hired the search firm HYA Executive Search in August and set an initial goal of hiring a superintendent by Jan. 1, 2015. HYA Executive Search was hired at a cost of $15,500, with some additional expenses.

Mulholland has served as Linn-Mar superintendent since 2003 and overseen significant growth in the district's enrollment and employee numbers.

The new superintendent would start July 1, 2015, the day after Mulholland officially retires.