During a pair of meetings at Big Spring High School, Arrow Educational Systems officials gathered opinions on what people want in a new school district chief.

Jim Dunlap, lead consultant for AES, said the information received during the meetings would be used to form a sort of template to help the firm find the ideal candidate for the job, which became vacant in late June when former Superintendent Michael Downes resigned.

“We will look for trends in what you tell us,” Dunlap told the crowd. “We will take that information and try to match it up with the ideal candidates.”

Dunlap likened this phase of the search process to painting a portrait.

“You won't be giving us big brush strokes tonight,” he said. “It'll be a little dab here, a little dab there, and before you know it, you have a painting.”

Opinions given during the Tuesday meeting were unsurprisingly varied, but the main quality people said they want in a new chief executive is that he or she puts Big Spring ISD students first.

“We don't want someone who's just passing through,” one person said. “We want someone who can connect with the teachers and the students and make them feel like a part of the process.”

There was a mini-groundswell of support for promoting High School Principal Mike Ritchey to the position.

Five people specifically mentioned Ritchey as an ideal candidate for the job, citing his long-standing relationship with BSISD, his “outstanding moral character,” and demonstrated concern for students in the district.

“You've got the ideal candidate right here,” a man said. “I don't think you will find as good a man, or as qualified a man, as him. He's handled several different jobs within the district and he's done a great job with each of them. I just think he'd be outstanding.”

Those attending the meeting also were asked to fill out a questionnaire detailing qualities wanted in a new superintendent. People who did not attend the meeting but would like to offer their input can find the form online at the BSISD Web site at www.bsisd.esc18.net.

Dunlap said the BSISD post would likely draw three types of candidates — superintendents from smaller districts looking to move up; persons interested in moving to this area; and assistants at larger school districts seeking their first CEO posting.

He noted that AES has already received more than 10 applications for the job and expects to receive about 40 before the application deadline Oct. 17.

After that, Dunlap and AES President Dr. Russell Marshall will talk with and conduct background checks on each applicant — criminal background checks are the responsibility of the school district — before coming back to the school board with their recommendations.

BSISD trustees will be shown each application. While AES will recommend a group of candidates it believes best fit the job, the final decision, Dunlap stressed, would be in the hands of the school board.

The board is scheduled to interview candidates throughout November, with a decision hopefully coming in January, Dunlap said.

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it