The Valparaiso School Board is in contract negotiations with a finalist to succeed Superintendent Jim McCall.
Board President Erika Watkins said Monday a board meeting has been set for 6 p.m. June 22 for public input on the contract with the new superintendent. A final vote would come about a week later.
The name can’t be revealed while contract negotiations are underway.
There were about 20 applicants, board member Ashley Kruse said.
The first round of interviews was about an hour each. “The second round of interviews was much more intense,” 90 minutes each, Watkins said.
“When I say remarkable interviews, each and every one of those was exactly that,” she said.
“It is overwhelming. There’s just so much to look at,” Watkins said.
During the second round, applicants were grilled intensely on what they planned to accomplish quickly, she said.
“We have been in this building a lot. I feel I live here now. I just need a bed and blanket or something,” she said.
Board member John Peluso said he hopes to be more open about the process when the negotiations are done and the new superintendent is a lock for the job.
“The amount of input we got from the public was very helpful,” he said.
Kaye Frataccia-Seibert is also itching to say more. “We need to talk about the public input, how we used that, how the candidate fit that criteria,” she said.
Frataccia-Seibert wants a smooth transition from “our rock star here.”
“Communication came up from every single group,” she said, and stressed the need for a communications director, so expect that position to be created soon.
Watkins said she hopes the community will remain as active in the future as it is now. “We are listening to your voices. They are not ignored.”
If you email Watkins, she said, she wants to share it with others. “We are more engaged, I think, this year than we have been in a long time.”
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For Karl Cender, on the board for 15 years, this is his second time hiring a new superintendent. McCall rose from assistant superintendent to superintendent, replacing E. Ric Frataccia.
“I watched you grow and rise throughout that time. I’ve learned to appreciate your gifts and talent,” Cender said. “I know you breathe green and white, and you care a ton for our kids.”
McCall became superintendent in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I don’t have to tell anyone what a crazy time that was, but you made it look easy,” Cender told him.
Frataccia-Seibert, Frataccia’s widow, has known McCall for a long time. “You were a great leader at Flint Lake when I was organizing the community committee,” she said.
“I appreciate the way that you always showed respect that you stood on, especially Ric,” Frataccia-Seibert said. “I am going to miss you in a lot of ways.”
Watkins said she has been grateful to work alongside McCall for five years.
“I cannot believe that this season is coming to an end,” she said.
“I’ve been waiting for you to say, it’s just a joke, it’s just a joke. It’s not a joke,” Watkins said, but April Fool’s Day has long passed.
“I still remember when I first got on the board,” Asley Kruse said, and was apprehensive about meeting with McCall.
“I am looking forward to the day I get your call and don’t panic momentarily,” she said.
“It’s been a quick baptism here,” said John Peluso, who is in his first year on the board. McCall has been helpful and willing to answer questions as needed, Peluso said.
Peluso recalled his first interaction with McCall, when McCall was assistant superintendent about seven years ago. McCall approached the situation calmly and wasn’t caught up in the moment, really listening to criticism. That “ability to not take offense and open up and listen” is what the community needs in a leader, Peluso said.
Valparaiso Teachers Union President Todd Winland, a math teacher at Valparaiso High School, praised McCall as being instrumental in his personal success as well as that of the schools and community. “Losing you is going to be tough to replace,” Winland said.
McCall expressed “sincere and humble gratitude” before recognizing his family.
“The sacrifices were shared,” he said, with the job requiring early mornings and late nights away from his family. “I know it was not always easy being the spouse or children of a superintendent.”
As McCall prepares to move to the new chapter of his life, “I do so with great confidence in the future of this district.”
“I will always be grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this district’s story,” he said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.