Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - At their last meeting, the Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees selected Mr. Dale Olinger, Mr. Thom Peck, and Dr. Candace Roush as finalists to interview for the superintendent position. However, at their meeting on Tuesday night, the choice was unanimous; Nobody.

In no particular order, the trustees commented:

“But as of right now, I don't feel like we are ready to go with any of them that we have seen so far.”

“Not one candidate encompassed everything that we need as a superintendent."

“No one candidate from this pool had everything that we need at MCPS.”

“We don't have the time to let somebody get to know this district and to get to know our students and our staff. We want somebody who has who was ready to hit the ground running. And while these candidates definitely have a lot of great experience, they don't have the experience running a district of this size. So that's why we think it was an unsuccessful search.”

“We didn't feel that we can afford to hire somebody who isn't already at the same experience level really. And yes, I think we need to just keep looking.”

“And per our policy 5120, no candidate best meets our criteria.”

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KGVO asked about the annual salary and benefits for the new superintendent, but that information was not available at the time of the interview, however, this information was published on the website Salary.com.

‘The average School Superintendent salary in Missoula is $141,626 as of October 27, 2022, but the range typically falls between $115,686 and $170,887. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, and the number of years the individual has spent in their profession.’

The board of trustees and the professional search firm will start the process of finding a new superintendent to replace Dr. Rob Watson and the interim superintendent Russ Lodge, immediately.

The trustees are Jeffrey Avgeris, Grace Decker, Nancy Hobbins, Koan Mercer, Karen Sherman, Jennifer Vogel, Arlene Walker-Andrews, Meg Whicher, Keenan Witt, Rob Woelich, and Chair Wilena Old Person.

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