QuickTake:

The district has said an interim superintendent will serve for a year as the school board decides on a permanent leader.

Two current superintendents from outside the area and a Springfield Public Schools principal have been named as finalists to become the district’s interim leader, officials announced Monday, June 1.

Each candidate will be interviewed by multiple stakeholder groups and the district’s school board June 9. 

They were selected from a pool of 16 applicants reviewed by the school board and search consultants. 

From that group, six candidates participated in screening interviews before the three finalists were selected.

After the February resignation of former Superintendent Todd Hamilton, the board appointed Jodi O’Mara to fill the leadership position for the remaining four months of the school year.

The interim superintendent is meant to serve as a one-year bridge to give the board time to select a permanent leader.

Chosen by the board for final interviews are:

  • Michael Carter, superintendent of the Lake County School District and executive director of the Oregon Small Schools Association, a nonprofit advocacy organization. 

Carter’s more than 40 years of experience includes more than 24 years as a superintendent, according to the announcement of the finalists, and he’s worked as a high school principal, middle school principal, elementary principal, assistant principal, university professor and educational mentor.

Carter has an education specialist degree from Lewis & Clark College and a master’s degree in educational administration from University of California, Los Angeles.

  • Kimberlee Pelster, principal of Thurston High School.

Pelster, principal at Thurston since 2022, has overseen the school during a time when its graduation rate reached a record 90%. Before joining the district, Pelster previously worked for Teach for America in Chicago in a director role supporting more than 90 teachers across 49 schools. Pelster has also worked in Eugene School District 4J in support of special education services and other initiatives.

Pelster has a master’s degree in educational leadership and policy from the University of Oregon and this spring completed a doctoral degree, also in educational leadership.

  • John Stover, superintendent of Rockingham County Schools in North Carolina.

Stover, in a career spanning 30 years in education, has also worked at District of Columbia Public Schools as chief of secondary schools and at Uplift Education Charter Schools in Texas, where he was superintendent. Stover has also been a principal or assistant principal in multiple school systems.

Stover has a master’s degree in school administration from East Carolina University and a doctorate in leadership and organizational innovation from Marymount University.