Indiana district confirms D 204 chief interviewed for top job there

Greater Clark County school officials have confirmed Indian Prairie Unit District 204 Superintendent Stephen Daeschner was one of four finalists interviewed behind closed doors Monday.

Daeschner would not confirm traveling to southern Indiana for the interview, but an assistant answering his office line Monday morning said he would be "out of town until Wednesday."

Some observers of the southern Indiana district think Daeschner will eventually be a shoo-in but the one Greater Clark County board member who returned calls Monday afternoon is in no rush to hand the job over.

Christina Gilkey said the board reviewed 13 applications since February before narrowing the list to the four candidates interviewed Monday.

When asked if she was comfortable that any of the four candidates would fill the position by the district's self-imposed June 1 deadline, she said "not if we do it right."

She said she would like to spend more time with the candidates and carefully check references and make site visits to the home district of the candidate that rises to the top.

It is undetermined whether the district will host an open house to introduce the candidate to the community, which Gilkey said she's also pushing for.

"We had four very impressive candidates today so it's going to be very important that we take our time and make the decision that is best for our students," Gilkey said. "We're going on our fifth superintendent in seven years and we've been without a superintendent now for five months. So to rush now would not be a good decision."

Gilkey said whomever gets selected would be expected to stay for a while longer and possibly groom future leaders.

"It would be nice to have someone in place for five years and mentor the assistant superintendent and pull them up," she said. "It would be nice for us and our students to have that continuity for once."

Greater Clark County Schools, located on the Ohio River, is the largest district in Clark County, operating 22 schools with about 11,000 students.

Of those students, Gilkey said, nearly half receive a free or reduced-price lunch. And six of the 22 schools receive Title 1 funds that provide financial assistance to schools with high numbers or high percentages of poor children to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards.

"We've got our challenges," she said. "So we need to make sure we get the right person to lead us in the best direction for our students."