Schools

Plymouth-Canton's Craig Fiegel: Finalist for Kansas School District

The school district's superintendent is interviewing in Salina, KS, his home state.

Craig Fiegel, superintendent of Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, is in Salina, KS, today for a job interview.

Fiegel is among the finalists for the position of Salina School District superintendent, according to a story The Salina Journal published Thursday.

The Plymouth-Canton school board hired Fiegel in 2008; in a 4-3 vote Sept. 28, 2010, the board decided against renewing his three-year contact. On Nov. 23, 2010, again in a split vote, the board suspended most of Fiegel's duties, reassigning the work to Deputy Superintendent Ken Jacobs.

Find out what's happening in Plymouth-Cantonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The four board members who voted against Fiegel — Judy Mardigian, John Jackson, Adrienne Davis and Dianne Gonzalez — have not been clear about why they are unhappy with Fiegel, other than to say the relationship has not been "a good fit."

Fiegel's total compensation package is $310,190.88. Total compensation for the Kansas job is budgeted for $150,939, according to Salina district spokeswoman Jennifer Bradford-Vernon.

Find out what's happening in Plymouth-Cantonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Salina's current superintendent is leaving June 1 after seven years with the district to accept a job in Grand Island Public Schools in Nebraska. The Salina school board has a special meeting tonight and a regular meeting Tuesday; Bradford-Vernon said the board's decision could come at either meeting.

Search for replacement moves forward

This week, Plymouth-Canton's board heard from a consultant on moving forward in the search for Fiegel's replacement. During the a special meeting Tuesday, school board members heard from Dick Dunham, director of superintendent search for the Michigan Association of School Boards, who will help find candidates for Plymouth-Canton.

Dunham promised a comprehensive search process. Board member Steve Sneidemann told Dunham that the more important task is defining the board's expectations for the superintendent's role, he said, "so prospective candidates will see us as a group that has their act together, and they'll want to come and work with us."


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