Hunt narrows for school chief

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), May 10, 2003 | by Tad WalchDeseret News staff writer

PROVO -- The next step in the search for a new superintendent for the Provo School District includes road trips for school board officials to St. George today and Idaho Falls on Monday.

The board announced the three names on its short list for the position on Friday and will convene closed meetings at both stops to interview references and other people who might provide insight into the skills of two of the three finalists, said Richard Sheffield, president of the school board.

Those two candidates are John P. Broberg, chief administrator at Tuacahn High School for the Performing Arts in St. George, and Charles J. Shackett, superintendent of the Bonneville School District in Idaho Falls.

The third finalist is Provo's assistant superintendent, Randall J. Merrill, who has served as interim superintendent since Patti Harrington resigned in December to take a job with the State Office of Education.

"We interviewed all 12 candidates who applied," Sheffield said. "Each was interviewed by three committees made up of the board, a committee of district employees including principals and a committee of patrons."

Sheffield said the finalists were standouts in two criteria set by the board after it called for feedback from district employees and patrons -- instructional leadership and business and administrative leadership.

"Now we'll make site visits to St. George and Idaho Falls, where we have appointments to meet with people who have dealt with the candidates," Sheffield said. "Then we'll have another round of extensive interviews."

Sheffield said board members hope to announce a final decision within two weeks.

Broberg was one of the founders of Tuacahn High School, one of Utah's original eight charter schools created after the 1998 Charter Schools Act.

Broberg held superintendent positions in Littlefield, Ariz., and Shawnee, Okla., before opening Tuacahn. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees at Brigham Young University and a doctorate at Oklahoma State.

Early in his career, Broberg taught at American Fork Junior High School and served as a counselor at Lakeridge Junior High in Orem.

Shackett was the principal at Provo High School during the 1991- 92 school year and held the same job at Highland High School in Salt Lake City from 1992-96. He then served as superintendent in the Shelley School District in Shelley, Idaho, from 1996-2001.

Shackett holds bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from BYU.

Merrill was the principal at Timpview High School in Provo from 1990-2001. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees at Utah State University and a doctorate at the University of Utah.

The original pool of 12 candidates included four from within the school district, four others from Utah and four from out of state, Sheffield said. The initial number of applicants exceeded the number the district received during the process of hiring Harrington two years ago.

E-mail: twalch@desnews.com