Baldwin County residents were invited to weigh in on the search for the school system’s next superintendent through an online questionnaire released to the public.
The survey went out first to parents and school employees but was open to anyone in the community. It followed a June 4 decision by the Baldwin County Board of Education to conduct its own search for a replacement for outgoing Superintendent Robbie Owen, rather than hire an outside search firm — a move the board said would save the district thousands of dollars.
Board President Shannon Cauley said the board wanted broad community feedback before selecting Owen’s successor, even though board members themselves would make the final decision. Officials said they wanted input from everyone with a stake in the education of Baldwin County’s children.
The questionnaire asked residents whether the next superintendent should come from within the school system or be recruited regionally or nationally, and whether prior experience as a superintendent, teacher or principal should be required. It also asked what qualities — such as an advanced degree, human resources or finance experience, or political savvy — the board should prioritize, and what issues, from academic standards to facility management, the incoming leader should tackle first.
During a school board meeting, officials announced that Owen would remain in his post through at least the end of July, delaying his planned return to Rockwell Elementary, where he had served as principal for 17 years. Officials said the extension was intended to avoid naming an interim superintendent before a permanent replacement is hired.
At the time the survey was released, the superintendent position had not yet been formally posted, though Cauley said she expected the listing to go up soon as feedback began coming in from the community.
Board members said they hoped the input gathered from the questionnaire would help shape both the job posting itself and the criteria used to evaluate applicants once the search formally got underway.