SALISBURY – Wicomico County Public Schools (WCPS) is seeking the community’s input on three finalists who are in the running to become the next superintendent.
Last Friday, the Wicomico County Board of Education announced the names of three finalists for the next superintendent of schools – Dr. Frederick Briggs, Dr. Eric Minus and Dr. Micah Stauffer.
Rick Briggs
Eric Minus
Micah Stauffer
This week, each finalist will sit down for a recorded interview with Board Chairman Gene Malone. Input on the three finalists will also be taken through a community survey, which opens on May 5.
“The search for the next superintendent of Wicomico County Public Schools is one of the top priorities for this board, because our school system must continue to have an outstanding leader,” Malone said in a statement. “We are pleased with the process so far and we’re excited to announce these three well-qualified finalists. We’re looking forward to hearing how each candidate answers the three questions in the video interview, and we’re glad to provide the entire community with the chance to watch the interviews and give input through a survey.”
Two of the three finalists named last week are no strangers to Wicomico’s school system.
Briggs, WCPS’s chief academic officer, has served in his capacity since 2017. Prior to that, he was the principal of James M. Bennett High, Mardela Middle and High and Bennett Middle. He has also served as assistant principal, dean of students, math teacher and coach at Wicomioco High. Stauffer, WCPS’s chief finance and operations officer, has served in his capacity since 2019. Prior to that, he was the director of secondary education. He served as principal of Parkside High and Mardela Middle and High, and assistant principal of Mardela Middle and High and Wicomico Middle. He taught science and coached at Parkside High.
The third contender for the position of superintendent is Minus, Baltimore County Public Schools’ current executive director of secondary schools. Prior to that, he served as the school system’s executive director of research and data analytics. Minus came to Baltimore County after serving in executive leadership positions in Montgomery County Public Schools and Howard County Public Schools. He has served as a middle and high school principal and began his education career as a secondary science teacher in Newport News, Va. Public Schools.
Information on the three finalists for superintendent will be posted at www.wcboe.org/finalists. The video interviews and biographies will be added on May 5, along with the survey link, which will remain open through May 12.
The school system reports the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) will collect the survey responses and provide all input to the Wicomico County Board of Education, whose members are charged with selecting the next superintendent. The Board’s goal is to vote to appoint the new Wicomico Superintendent of Schools by late May or early June. The new superintendent would start work on July 1.
Dr. Donna Hanlin, Wicomico County’s current superintendent of schools, announced last fall that she would be retiring effective June 30, 2022. Appointed to the position in 2016, Hanlin has served as the school system’s superintendent for the last six years. Much of her 43-year career was spent in Wicomico County Public Schools.
“For the superintendent search, the Board of Education contracted with MABE’s Superintendent Search Service for its expertise,” a statement reads. “MABE is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to serving and supporting boards of education in Maryland. With MABE’s guidance, Wicomico Schools surveyed the community earlier this year for initial input that helped shape the search for a new superintendent.”
