Three to interview for district superintendent

Public interviews for the next superintendent of Bloomfield Hills Schools will take place on Wednesday, November 13, at the Booth Center, as three finalists begin their first round of interviews by the Bloomfield Hills Board of Education. From a pool of 60 candidates culled by national search firm Ray & Associates, they narrowed it down to nine qualified candidates for the board to assess. From there, each board member compared and contrasted all nine to narrow their finalists down to four; however, one, Yaw Obeng, superintendent of Vermont's Burlington School District, withdrew from consideration on Thursday, November 7. The finalists are Robert Durecka, principal of West Hills Middle School, Bloomfield Hills Schools; Dr. Matthew Outlaw, superintendent of Brandon School District; and Patrick Watson, principal of West Bloomfield High School of the West Bloomfield School District. Durecka, currently principal of 4th-8th grade West Hills Middle School, was previously principal of Andover High School. Watson has been principal of West Bloomfield High School since 2014, and has been with the school since 1994, having previously been athletic director and assistant principal. Dr. Outlaw, of Brandon Schools, was also a finalist for the Birmingham Public Schools' superintendent position last year. The schedule for the superintendent interviews are 2-3:15 p.m., Patrick Watson; 5:30-6:45 p.m., Robert Durecka; 7-8:15 p.m., Dr. Matthew Outlaw. All interviews will take place at the Booth Center, 7273 Wing Lake Road, Bloomfield Township. These interviews will be conducted in an open and video recorded meeting. Each interview will be available by 2 p.m. on November 14, 2019, on theSuperintendent Search webpage. Community members are welcome to attend the meeting. Board President Paul Kolin said the board will discuss the candidates and their interviews at an open meeting Thursday, November 14, at 6 p.m. “We will narrow down our choices to two, at which time we will seek community input and feedback,” Kolin said. “We really want the best candidate to lead our district for the future.”