ANDERSON — School board members Wednesday plan to start interviewing six finalists in the running to become superintendent of Frankton-Lapel Community Schools.

The board plans to interview the candidates during closed-door meetings tonight, Thursday and Friday, said Nancy Likens, school board president. Assistant Superintendent Robert Fields is a finalist.

Board members plan to pick two or three candidates to bring back for a second round of interviews, and then select one or two finalists to take a tour of the schools and speak with teachers and staff, Likens said.

Whoever is hired will replace Superintendent Ned Speicher, who is retiring after 11 years of serving as the district’s lead administrator.

The board wants to conduct thorough interviews before picking a replacement, school board member John Mitchell said.

“We’ll get right down to brass tacks with each of them,” he said. “It’s a very important decision we’re going to make here.”

Whoever is hired is expected to start working for the school district July 1. Speicher said he planned to work with the new superintendent to help ease the transition.

The new superintendent’s salary will depend on the person’s training and experience, according to the school district’s job posting.

The search process is not open to the public since it deals with personnel issues, Mitchell said.

Board members are allowed by state law to conduct interviews in private, but they must do their hiring by a public vote.

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FYI

Board members of the Frankton-Lapel Community School Corps. will meet in executive session Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to interview six finalists for the superintendent position. Assistant Superintendent Robert Fields is a finalist.