School Board Rejects Novi High School Principal Recommendation

The Novi schools board of education decided Thursday not to select Nicole Carter as the principal of Novi High School, although she is currently the school's interim principal. 

District Superintendent Steve Matthews said the board members who voted against the approval did not think the hiring process was thorough enough.

Novi High School needed a new principal after Carol Diglio, former principal, moved to her new position as assistant superintendent of Human Resources for the district.

The open position was posted in early June, and the district's goal was to identify 10 to 15 candidates for prescreen interviews between then and the end of June. Superintendent Steve Matthews then conducted one-on-one interviews to identify the best candidate to serve as Novi High School’s principal. He recommended that the board choose Carter for the position.

However, at Thursday's board meeting, the decision was not approved and Novi High School remains without a principal. 

School Board Treasurer Ann Glubzinski, Trustee Tracey Cadwell and Vice President Bobbie Murphy voted for approval, while Secretary Shari Lebo, President Dennis O'Connor and Trustee George Kortlandt voted against approval, according to Ange Vaughan, assistant to the superintendent for Novi schools. Trustee Jason Manar was absent, she said.

The decision needed a majority vote from the board members who were present, said Superintendent Steve Matthews. Although one member did not vote, he cannot sway the decision because he was not at the meeting and did not access the meeting via phone or video chat to vote, Matthews said. 

He said the board members who voted against the approval did not think the hiring process was thorough enough.

"They want us to improve the process before we come back with another recommendation," he said.

Those improvements include more objective measures in regards to resumes, questions asked during the interview and how the candidates were rated, he said.

Carter started as one of 16 candidates for the principal position and then became one of five, he said. Then, Matthews said he interviewed Carter and one other candidate for the position.

"Ms. Carter has extensive experience at the schools. She has been an assistant principal for three years, a dean for three years and a teacher for eight years at the high school," he said.

Matthews said her experience was one reason he selected her as the top candidate. He said she also deals with parents in a timely manner and is thorough and organized.

The board members recognized Matthews recommendation, but they weren't as confident in the hiring process and wanted to meet more candidates, he said. That means starting the hiring process, once the board approves the final tweaks, from square one.

"The board wants us to open the process again. If Ms. Carter wants to interview again and go through the process, I would encourage her to do that. I believe she would be a top candidate," Matthews said.

Matthews' next step is to talk with the high school's three assistant principals, which includes Carter, about what needs to happen before the school years starts.  

"I think that there needs to be an interim brought in," he said.

Carter serves as the interim principal now, but Matthews said that may change.

"I’m in the process of talking with her to see if she wants to continue that role or revert back to her old role as assistant principal," he said.

The interim principal will probably be in place for the year, he said, because the district will wait for the new hiring process to be well defined and for the board to fully understand and approve it.