3 finalists vie for Middletown superintendent post

Community invited to meet the candidates at a forum set for Jan. 7.

file photo Robert D. Sommers is one of three finalists to become the next Middletown superintendent.

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By Kevin Aldridge, Staff Writer Updated 12:06 AM Thursday, December 17, 2009

MIDDLETOWN — Three finalists are vying to be the next Middletown City Schools superintendent. They are:

• Lloyd D. Martin, superintendent of Mansfield City Schools.

• Greg Rasmussen, assistant superintendent of Wichita Public Schools in Wichita, Kan.

• Robert D. Sommers, CEO of Butler Technology Career and Development Schools.

The Middletown Board of Education released their names Wednesday, Dec. 16.

The finalists were selected from a pool of more than 60 “well-qualified” applicants, board members said Wednesday in a letter to the Journal. Carney, Sandoe & Associates, a Boston-based consulting firm hired by the district, conducted the nationwide search and performed an initial screening of all applicants.

District officials will host a “Meet the Candidates” night starting at 5 p.m. Jan. 7 at Middletown High School, according to district spokeswoman Debbie Alberico.

Each candidate is expected to give a 10- to 15-minute autobiography and answer three questions posed by a facilitator. The audience will have a chance to rate the candidates through a process set up by the district’s consultant, school officials said.

“The board is very encouraged by the strength that each of these candidates brings, and we look forward to the continuation of this process to ultimately hire the next superintendent of Middletown City Schools,” the board stated in its letter.

The district had spent $25,360 on the superintendent search as of Monday, according to Lisa Fahncke, district treasurer.

Board members interviewed seven candidates for the vacancy on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12. Board President Greg Tyus said the district isn’t releasing names of the four candidates who didn’t make the final cut.

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