If negotiations go well, Lake Orion will see a familiar face in their new school superintendent.
In a special board meeting held Friday night, the Lake Orion Board of Education interviewed internal candidate, current Assistant Superintendent Ken Gutman, for the position of superintendent, which will become vacant when current Superintendent Christine Lehman retires this June.
The board voted 5-2 to offer the position to Gutman pending successful contract negotiations.
Board President Jim Weidman and Trustee Bob Gritzinger were the two dissenting votes, both expressing a belief that the board should continue to an external search to verify they are choosing the best candidate possible.
‘We’ve done a lot of work in the past four-and-a-half months to get to this point,? Gritzinger said. ?(Gutman) fills a lot of what we expected, but I’m not sure we’ve done everything in our power to find the best person possible in that position.?
Weidman agreed, noting he felt to find the best candidate ‘you need to leave no stone unturned.?
‘I remain in favor of continuing the process to determine if there would be candidates competitive with our internal candidate,? he said before the vote, adding this process may also support the internal candidate (Gutman) as the best choice.
Several of the board members that voted in favor of Gutman cited his enthusiasm, support from the district staff and proven track record for success in Lake Orion community schools as his selling points.
The next step for the board remains to iron out contract negotiations with Gutman.
‘We’ll be working out details on the contract that meet the needs of the candidate and the district,? Weidman said.
For more information, see next week’s issue of The Review, and, as always, stay up to date at lakeorionreview.com.