To stay current
For updates on the Marana Unified School District superintendent selection process, check the governing board's agenda at maranausd.org online.
TIMELINE: MARANA IN FLUX - A brief history
The district hires longtime employee Richard Lesko as superintendent, replacing Wade McLean. His appointment comes after an internal hiring process, with only two candidates and no community input.
After one year of employment, the same governing board that hired Lesko pressures him into resigning, citing "communication" problems. Hundreds protest his resignation.
"I am not interested in returning as superintendent nor will I be in the future," Lesko says after a group raises hopes of getting him rehired.
The board hires Jane Pryne, an experienced educator from a district a fraction of Marana's swelling size, as interim superintendent. Pryne makes clear she will only stick around for a year. Her mission: Heal wounds and oversee a national search for a permanent superintendent.
People are also reading…
Former Flowing Wells Superintendent Bob Hendricks is commissioned to conduct the search. He stresses the importance of transparency and community involvement.
Teachers, students, parents, staffers, administrators and community and business leaders meet with Hendricks to draw up a list of preferred superintendent characteristics.
Still disgruntled by the board's decision to fire Lesko without explanation, voters oust two longtime board members. A new board will hire his replacement.
Assistant superintendent Ron Rickel, the candidate the board passed over when it hired Lesko in 2003, leaves the district for a superintendent job elsewhere.
A community panel conducts a blind screening of applications and recommends its choices.
Finalists are selected from a list of eight.
Final candidates are scheduled to tour the district individually and meet with the community. They will be interviewed in closed session.
The district intends to hire a candidate in open session.
Pryne's term ends; a new superintendent takes over.
