Schools

Report: Osborne Finalist for Ann Arbor Superintendent Job

Michigan board members plan to make a site visit to SOMSD later this week.

South Orange–Maplewood School District (SOMSD) Superintendent Brian Osborne is one of two finalists in the running to become the next superintendent of Ann Arbor (Mich.) Public Schools, according to a report in Ann Arbor.com

Osborne was one of six initial candidates interviewed in a public forum on Monday and Tuesday. The district is in the midst of its fourth superintendent search in 10 years and has had five superintendents since 2002, the report said. 

Osborne's contract with SOMSD expires on June 30, 2014.  In 2009, the South Orange – Maplewood Board of Education voted to amend Osborne's original contract, which would have expired in June 2010. In 2011, the board gave Osborne a 2 percent raise. His current salary is $208,170, said the district spokeswoman. 

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

When his contract expires, Osborne would be subject the state salary cap which would force him to take a roughly $40,000 pay cut, bringing his salary down to $167,500. The regulation, which was enacted in 2010 and caps superintendent salaries based on the size of the district, expires in November 2014 but unless overturned by the legislature, it could be extended further.

The other finalist is Jeanice Kerr Swift, assistant superintendent of the Colorado Springs school district. One candidate, the principal of an Ann Arbor alternative high school, was initially said to be a front runner but his lack of superintendent experience seemed to be an issue for some board members, according to the report. 

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

The board plans to make site visits to SOMSD and Colorado later this week, the report said. The finalists will give a short presentation to share with the public and will spend a day visiting various schools in the district, the report said.

Patch will update this article as more information becomes available.


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