Norwalk superintendent candidates came rolling in

NORWALK, Conn. – The search for a new Norwalk Public Schools superintendent has netted a surprising number of candidates, Board of Education Chairman Mike Lyons said.

“We have, as of about a week ago, 78 applications, which is considerably more than expected,” Lyons said.

That number may have crept up a little, Longo said, as that was several days before the deadline. The board expected about 40 candidates, he said.

PROACT, the search firm hired by the BOE, has begun profiling the candidates by comparing them to the profile the board developed, he said. The firm will do telephone interviews and background checks to winnow the field down the the top eight to 12 candidates, based on what the board is looking for.

Most of the candidates are from outside of Connecticut, in the Northeast, he said. About 10 percent are in Connecticut and “a smattering are from around the country.”

“That’s what we were hoping for,” he said. “We want some out of the box candidates. You might hire a safe candidate, but I want to see some of the out of the box ones, too.”

PROACT will share its information with the board, and the field will be winnowed down to the three best candidates for the board to begin sifting through in the second half of May, Lyons said.

“If you’ve got 78 I’ve got a feeling you’ll have some real gems in a group that big,” he said. “I’m very encouraged.”