Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board starts closed-door phase of superintendent search

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board launched the closed-door stretch of its superintendent search Tuesday, in a meeting to begin winnowing the 51 applications its search firm collected in September.

North Carolina law allows closed meetings for personnel matters and attorney-client privilege, both of which the board cited in closing Tuesday’s search session. The board has additional closed meetings scheduled Nov. 16 and 17 to interview semifinalists.

In previous national searches, the board has chosen three finalists to meet the public before making a hire. This time members say they may drop that practice if they believe it will deter good candidates who are already leading districts and don’t want to go public unless they get the job.

The timeline calls for hiring a superintendent early in 2017, with the transition coming sometime before current Superintendent Ann Clark’s contract expires in June.

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board starts closed-door phase of superintendent search."