A school superintendent supervises the school district’s daily operations, implements the school district’s policies, and executes the school board’s decisions. As a school board member, is there a way to guarantee you’ll hire a successful school district superintendent each time? The key is to ask the correct interview questions. Given below are 36 interview questions that will help.

General

1.     Why do you want to leave your present position?
2.     How are you qualified for this position? Does your educational background, credentials, or professional experience meet the requirements necessary to handle this job’s scale and scope?
3.     Did you research our school district and the neighboring communities? What was the result?  
4.     If your present district tried to tempt you to stick to the post after we offer you the position, what would you decide?
5.     Would you travel from your present community or shift to one closer, within our school district?
6.     What are your plans for staying updated and keeping the board informed about present trends in PreK-12 education?

Board-Superintendent Relationship

1.     What, according to you, is the superintendent’s and the school board’s role?
2.     Can you work with the board competently to establish district goals?
3.     Have you ever spent time on or written any school board policies?
4.     Should the superintendent recommend every agenda item to the school board that would need any board action?
5.     Are you experienced in using Robert’s Rule of Order (Revised) for meetings?

Personnel

1.     How do you perceive the chain of command working in our district?
2.     What role do the superintendent, principals, teachers, and the board of education play in the hiring process?
3.     What role do the superintendent, principals, teachers, and the board of education play in the personnel evaluation process?
4.     Have you ever amended or written an assessment system for school district personnel? 
5.     What are your ideas on delegation of authority? How do you go about it?

Professional Negotiations

1.     What’re the advantages and disadvantages of employee unions?
2.     What role do the superintendent, principals, and the board of education play in the negotiation process?

Public School Finance

1.     Do you understand our state’s financial accounting system?
2.     Have you ever created an entire school budget?
3.     What’re your ideas on deficit spending and deficit financing?
4.     Are you aware of how this state’s funding formula functions?
5.     How would you depict our district’s financial condition?
6.     Did you ever need to run a campaign for the school district’s annual general budget vote or a capital campaign and vote?

School Curriculum & Instruction

1.     Should you hold the school district responsible for improving its teachers’ effectiveness?
2.     How would you execute a curriculum change?
3.     How would you systematize the district, with respect to curriculum, in a way that optimizes student potential and performance?
4.     What role should the superintendent and the board play in curriculum development?
5.     For a district of our size, what should be the number of curriculum offerings?
6.     How will you make sure to get the district’s curriculum audited and lined up with national and state standards?

Transportation, Maintenance, and Food Service Programs

1.     What’s your experience in handling a district transportation program?
2.     Should the district have its own transportation program or outsource school transportation to a contractor?  
3.     Would you craft a preventive and custodial maintenance plan for the district?
4.     Are you experienced in handling a district food-service program?

School/Community Relations

1.     How would you set up positive public relations between the community and the school district?
2.     Are you receptive to the community’s use of the district resources?

That’s the end. Make sure to share how it goes.