Superintendent Lyndsay Huntsman said the district has five administrator position vacancies. Park City High School Principal Roger Arbabi recently announced his retirement and Jeremy Ranch Elementary and Ecker Hill Middle School need new principals as well. Huntsman's previous position as Career and Technical Education (CTE) Director also needs filling.
Huntsman said the district conducted a survey as there are more vacancies than usual and it wanted staff input.
“We have not had this many principalships open at one time, so really wanted to give our staff the opportunity to give feedback in terms of what they feel they need at the building level from their next leader,” she said.
One hundred sixty-five staff members from Jeremy Ranch Elementary, Ecker Hill Middle School, Treasure Mountain Junior High and Park City High School answered the survey. They were asked what qualities, leadership style and priorities they wanted in an administrator.
Staff from Jeremy, Ecker and the high school ranked administrator qualities similarly, with effective communicator being the most important, followed by transparent, approachable and collaborative. Treasure respondents ranked transparent and approachable number one followed by effective communicator and inclusive culture.
About 44% of respondents said they want a leader who delegates with trust in staff expertise. Around 76% want to work with an administrator who prioritizes school culture and climate, and 44% identified staff morale and retention as their leadership priorities.
Huntsman said the feedback from the survey is helping to guide the selection process, which is ongoing.
“We've already started this process, formulating our interview questions to reflect what staff is looking for in the next potential leader for their building,” she said. “So it's informing the way in which the questions are being structured.”
Huntsman said the goal is to seat the new principals and potentially the CTE director at the next Board of Education meeting March 18.
Former interim Superintendent Caleb Fine was appointed interim CTE Director in the meantime.
