The Penn-Harris-Madison schools board has opted against a national search and instead plans to hire its assistant superintendent to succeed Jerry Thacker.
As required by law, the PHM board held a special meeting Thursday night to let the public comment on a contract they’ve offered Assistant Superintendent Heather Short to be the next superintendent. Board President Chris Riley says the board reached consensus in executive session to offer her the job and never seriously considered other candidates.
Short has been at PHM for 31 years, hiring in as a teacher in 1994 right after earning a bachelor’s in education from Indiana University. She also has an MBA from Notre Dame and PhD from Purdue.
“She is well acquainted with PHM’s culture, with PHM’s personnel, with the community, and she’s staying here," Riley said. "If we hire somebody from out of state, are they looking at PHM as a destination job or as the next step on the ladder? Because we very much consider the superintendent of Penn-Harris-Madison to be a destination job.”
Riley said the board expects to formally vote on Short’s contract offer at a special public meeting May 27.
