School Board selects top three candidates for superintendent
Public forums scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Thursday

Saturday, March 18, 2006—The Renton School District Board of Directors, working with a 17-member group of parents, staff members, business leaders and citizens, has narrowed the list of candidates for the position of superintendent down to three from an initial pool of eight. The new superintendent will replace Dr. Dolores Gibbons who will retire at the end of this school year after nine years as superintendent of Renton Schools and nearly 40 years in education.

Renton School Board members reviewed 23 applications from candidates from eight states. After hours of review and deliberation, the board narrowed the list to eight applicants who were interviewed on Friday and Saturday to further trim the list down to the final three candidates.
The three candidates selected are:

Dr. Beverly Cheney, superintendent South Kitsap School District (Port Orchard, Wash.); previously served as senior director of educational assessment and accountability, Washoe School District (Reno, Nev.); asst. superintendent elementary education and exec. director community relations, Kent School District; elementary school principal; and elementary school teacher.

Larry Francois, superintendent, Lakewood School District; previously served as human resources director, Edmonds School District; asst. director, Sno-Isle Skills Center, Mukilteo School District; high school asst. principal; high school teacher; and adult high school program instructor, Edmonds Community College.

Dr. Mary Alice Heuschel, deputy (Wash.) state superintendent; previously assistant superintendent, curriculum, OSPI; intermediate school principal, Yelm School District; assessment specialist state education department, Hawaii; teacher, West Point Military Academy; teacher Department of Defense schools, Europe; and special education teacher.

The public will have an opportunity to individually meet and ask questions of these candidates at community forums, 6 to 7:30 p.m. each night at Benson Hill Elementary School, 18665 116th Ave S, Renton:

Board president Al Talley said the selection was difficult and that all of the candidates offered something useful that could be applied in Renton.
“At the end of this process,” said Talley, “the new superintendent should review some of the great ideas offered by the other candidates that could help Renton schools continue to thrive and move forward.”

The pool of applicants for the position included: 18 males and five females; 11 current or prior superintendents; a university professor; 17 who hold doctorate degrees; 15 from Washington state, and others from California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Oklahoma and Virginia.