Wenatchee School District Superintendent Brian Flones announced today to Wenatchee High School staff that the principal position opened March 16 for applicants, and Northwest Leadership Associates will again lead the nationwide recruitment process for the district.

“It really helps get the word out much better than we can do,” Flones said this morning of hiring the outside firm. He told WHS staff, in a meeting this morning in the WHS auditorium, it will cost about $8,000 to hire Northwest Leadership Associates.

The agency will also conduct a survey, Executive Director of Human Resources Lisa Turner told WHS staff this morning, that will be open to parents, students, and staff. This survey will help screen the candidates and provide questions for the public forum with the finalists, Flones said.

The public forum is scheduled for April 22 in the evening. Candidates will be interviewed April 21. The application window will close April 15, and the district expects to have a new principal hired by April 28.

This announcement comes after current Principal Bob Celebrezze was unanimously approved by the Eastmont School Board to become Clovis Point Intermediate School principal July 1.

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Turner told The Apple Leaf earlier this month that opening any position is a good move, in terms of general human resources practices, and allows the district to find the best “talent” for a position.

Northwest Leadership Associates led the search for candidates in 2013 when Celebrezze was hired. During that process, meetings were conducted with student leaders to determine qualities of a principal’s sought by students. That is not the plan this time, Flones said, but that students will likely give finalists tours of WHS and ask a few questions to provide feedback to the interview team.

The interview team will consist of 12 people, including WHS Office Manager Kim White, Deputy Superintendent Jon DeJong, school board members Robert Sealby and Walter Newman, Wenatchee Education Association President Kris Cameron, three certificated WHS staffers, a WHS assistant principal, Turner, and two parent representatives.