By Dave Stafford, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON, Ind. — Anderson Community Schools on Tuesday will offer its leadership position to an educator whose resume includes past superintendent positions in Flint and Hamtramck, Mich.
Felix Chow, who also recently served as interim chief financial officer for the public school system in Pontiac, Mich., has been offered a contract as superintendent of Anderson Community Schools, pending a board vote Tuesday, board President P.T. Morgan said.
“The offer has been made to Dr. Chow, and whether the board accepts that offer ... it will have to come to a vote on that particular individual,” Morgan said.
Board members have been interviewing and evaluating superintendent candidates for months since former Superintendent Mikella Lowe retired in July. Lennon Brown has acted as interim superintendent since.
The board has conducted several closed-door executive sessions to discuss candidates. “Of course we can’t take a vote in any way, shape or form in executive session,” Morgan said.
“You can kind of get a feel for the direction the board wanted to take,” he said.
Board members, through the university search team that helps evaluate superintendent candidates, made clear a preference for a candidate with a doctorate and experience as a superintendent, Morgan said. “That in itself narrowed the search down,” he said.
Board member Irma Hampton Stewart said Monday that she had talked with a wide range of community members and traveled to Virginia as board members evaluated candidates from a nationwide search. Identities of finalists weren’t disclosed because candidates had requested their names not be revealed, she said.
“I’m looking for expertise in a superintendent,” she said. “A leader who’s not just part of a crowd.”
“I would hope that the board would make a selection that way,” Stewart said of Chow.
Board member Teddy Bohnenkamp said, “We’re extremely fortunate to get this caliber of an individual. ... “We’re going to turn the corner this time.”
The regions where Chow has led school systems have endured economic situations similar to Anderson’s with the decline of the once-dominant auto industry.
“He’s coming here because of our need,” Bohnenkamp said. “This is admirable what he knows and has handled before.”
Chow could not be reached for comment on Monday.
While the board is prepared to select a new superintendent at its meeting Tuesday, the official agenda sent last week does not list it as an item for action.
“I think that will probably come under new business,” Morgan said.
Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com
Public meeting
What: Anderson Community Schools board
Where: Administration Building, 101 W. 29th St.
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10
