Shelbyville Central Schools board has a tentative agreement in place for the next superintendent of Shelby County's largest school system.

The board held a public hearing at noon Thursday at the administrative office to allow the public to comment on the proposed contract being offered to the as-yet-named administrator.

Only two representatives of local media attended the meeting on a day when SCS is not in session due to a winter snow storm blanketing the state.

New school board president Curt Johnson confirmed there will be a Feb. 10 meeting at the administative building at 7 p.m. to introduce the new superintendent.

"We feel good about where we are at. We have a good candidate and hope to make a public announcement on Feb. 10 and move forward," said Johnson after the meeting Thursday.

A new superintendent search was started in late 2021 after current superintendent Mary Harper announced her plan to retire at the end of the current school year.

The candidate pool of applicants was around a dozen and Johnson believes there were several strong candidates identified and interviewed.

"The difference in my mind between this superintendent search and the last one was we had fewer applicants this year but significantly more qualified," said Johnson. "I don't know what to attribute that to, frankly I think the consultants we used, which is a consortium of the universities of Indiana that offer PhDs in education, did a great job for us. I can attribute the higher caliber to them."

The school system did not have to pay to use the consultation service.

"It's free. It didn't cost us anything," said Johnson. "And they gave us a good jump start on the process. 

"In all honesty, I think the board has done a good job. We have been on top of this from word one. It's been a pretty substantial time commitment from everybody."

The proposed contract is for three years, beginning July 1, 2022, with an annual salary of $163,000.

The superintendent is allowed 20 vacation days per year in addition to national holidays, three personal days each year, a $5,000 moving expense if the superintendent moves to Shelbyville in the first three years of his or her contract, and the same benefits provided to teachers of Shelbyville Central Schools.