Finalists Carol Birks, Pamela Brown and Gary Highsmith.
After hours of debate lasting past midnight, a committee advanced three finalists to the next round of what’s been a turbulent search for a new schools superintendent.
The search committee settled on three final candidates:
• Carol Birks, a former Bridgeport principal who’s now the chief of staff in Hartford Public Schools.
• Pamela Brown, the former superintendent in Buffalo, N.Y., who now runs elementary schools in Fontana, Calif.
• And Gary Highsmith, a former Beecher School and Hamden High principal who now manages human resources for Hamden’s schools.
Birks and Brown were both recommended by the executive search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates; Highsmith was added later after several Board of Education members complained that no local candidates passed the consultants’ vetting.
Following two days of interviews and hours of debate, the 17-member search committee picked its favorites around 12:30 a.m. Friday. It passed on four other candidates; two had previously withdrawn their applications, amid perceived political interference with the search.
All three finalists are scheduled to participate in community forums this coming Tuesday, Nov. 14. An evening session, open to the public, will take place from 5:30 – 9 p.m. at Betsy Ross Auditorium at 150 Kimberly Ave.
A final vote on a new superintendent is expected at a special Board of Education meeting on Nov. 20.