School Board 150 holds public forum for superintendent candidates

A public forum was held at Tigert Middle School to give the public a chance to speak with the two candidates for the superintendent position.

Superintendent Scott Muir, who was hired originally in 2021, has elected to pursue a superintendency in the Aberdeen School District.  Soda Springs School District hosted a question and answer forum to allow the two finalists to meet with members of the community and answer questions about their vision moving forward.

The two candidates, L.T. Erickson and Stefanie Shaw, both introduced themselves to the audience that had gathered at Tigert Middle School, and then responded to a series of audience-generated questions from moderator Galen Wilson of the School Board.

L.T. Erickson is the director of Federal Programs and School Safety and Security in the San Juan School District in Utah.  He oversees district safety and security, and is the executive director of the district’s education foundation.  He has also served Director of Secondary Programs in the Twin Falls School District, Junior High Principal and Director of Federal Programs and Technology in the Snake River District, Assistant Principal and AD in the American Falls School District, and teacher in Cassia County School District.  He holds a doctorate in educational leadership, a master’s in education leadership, and a bachelor’s in mathematics teacher education.

Stefanie Shaw is the Superintendent and Federal Programs director in the Dietrich School District.  (Dietrich is in Lincoln County, just east of Shoshone and north of Twin Falls.). In her position she oversees K-12 education, including budget, financial operations, grants, special education, athletics and facilities.  She has served as a principal, counselor, and Dean of Students in the district, as well as a Business Education teacher in the Gooding School District.  She holds an educational specialist certificate in educational leadership, a master’s degree in educational administration, and a bachelor’s degree in business education.  

Asked what the they would do to increase trust in the school district as the new superintendent, both candidates framed their answers around the idea of gathering information on the ground first, in order to get a clear sense of the community’s attitudes and how parents and district members felt about the current school environment.  

“First, I need to get here and find out about your situation,” Stefanie Shaw said.  She expressed a strong interest in meeting with and engaging with members of the community as the district plans its next steps forward.

L.T. Erickson mirrored that interest, and raised the importance of transparency between the school district and the citizens.  “Taking time to listen is very important,” he said.  

Both candidates were asked about their thoughts on school consolidation.  This was raised specifically in regards to the potential for reducing costs for the three districts.

Both candidates acknowledged the difficult nature of the question, and suggested that they were not familiar enough with the surrounding districts yet to have a strong opinion.

Erickson noted that “I’ve been around Idaho long enough to know that communities love their schools, and athletics, no matter how big they are.  As far as consolidation, there are benefits but love of community schools is very important.  Financially, it probably makes sense, but for communities it doesn’t.”

Shaw agreed that there was a need for a new high school, but that direct consolidation wasn’t the only, or the best, means of achieving it.  As someone who grew up in the Utah school system, she explained that she was very familiar with consolidated districts, but didn’t know that it was necessarily right for Soda, Grace, and Bancroft.  “Schools are the lifeblood of any community,” she said.

Shaw discussed arrangements whereby resources of different types might be shared to reduce costs to each district, but that their individual identities would remain in place.  She did not go into specifics, but it’s an intriguing idea about an issue that has been on the minds of voters for decades.

With regard to the new school, Shaw noted that the bond for a new high school that was put forward last failed, but that before another was brought to voters she would learn much more about the residents.  “Knowing the community is the only way to get a bond passed,” she said.  “And being frugal.”

The two were asked about increasing “rigor” in the schools.  Erickson discussed the idea that rigor is built up system-wide, and that if values and concepts are shared vertically throughout the school system, it creates a “team approach” to increasing academic and behavioral rigor.

Shaw discussed a program she initiated where she visits each classroom with teachers in her district as “rounds” to ensure that teachers are learning from and communicating with each other, and has found it very successful.

The candidates were asked about class sizes, and agreed that the smaller the better, and that they would work to try to make them as focused as possible.

The candidates were asked about other issues facing the Soda Springs School District—and school districts in general—and provided a range of thoughtful responses with specific examples from their work experience.

The School District met in executive session later in the evening, and extended an offer to one of the candidates.  Because the offer had not officially been responded to as of press time, we will bring you word of the official hiring next week.