As Mr. James Richmond finishes out his last few months as the Charles County Superintendent, the search for the replacement narrows as the application process comes to an end. After much anticipation, the Charles County Board of Education recently named three finalists for the position: Jeanice Swift of Colorado Springs School District 11, Carey Wright of the District of Columbia Public Schools, and Charles County’s own  Kimberly Hill.

“We feel we have selected highly qualified finalists for the position,” commented Roberta Wise, the Board of Education Chairman.

The final step for the three candidates was a series of community forum meetings where different groups sat down with them for question and answer sessions. Those forums took place during the week of March 18. The various groups ranged from the central office staff to student leaders to elected officials from around the county. Board members are scheduled to reconvene next week after the focus group meetings to discuss the feedback and qualifications of the Superintendent finalists.

When asked why she wanted to become the county’s next superintendent, Ms. Hill replied, “I wanted to have an impact on the entire district, rather than just one school; I wanted to bring everyone together.”

In the event that Hill becomes the new superintendent, a new principal would be named at North Point for the upcoming school year. “My hope would be the focus on the students and achievement would be something the new principal carries on.”

While Hill would be very excited to become the new superintendent, she concluded that it is difficult to think about leaving her North Point family that she has been with for nearly seven years.

The Board is set to select and announce Richmond’s successor on April 9 at its regular monthly meeting.