Principal Search for North Pauses, Search to Continue Later This Year

Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Jon Dean said although he was pleased with the process, especially the parental involvment, in a recent search to , the position will not be filled this school year.

Instead, the position will remain open and the search will begin again later this year, Dean said Monday in an update to the school board. Dean and will serve as support to the remaining administration at , Dean said.

Both have experience at the high school level.

The time frame the district had to find a new principal was not ideal, Dean said, explaining the district administration made its best attempt to make it work. The better time of year for such a search is December to February, he said.

Rather than present an inferior candidate to the board for approval just to fill the vacancy, he said, the decision was made to put the search on hold for the moment and it will start back up in December.

"I am not happy about that. I don't expect anyone else to be happy about that, however I am comfortable with it because I wouldn't want to bring to this Board of Education someone, anyone who we would not be convinced would be a great candidate," Dean said.

More than 50 people participated in interviews during the last two weeks, including students, parents, North teachers, administration and support staff, and community members, Dean said, describing the process as thorough.

While there were candidates some liked none were "the exact right fit for North," he said.

The district opened the position for applications after Bearden announced his departure at the end of the school year. He left after six years and is now working at Detroit Country Day Schoool.

Within a week the district began the search. Dean said he was pleased by the involvmenet of the community, noting about and more than 100 parents and community members volunteered to help with the interview process.