3 Emerge As Finalists for Fox Point-Bayside School Chief

After six people were interviewed last weekend, Fox Point-Bayside school officials have whittled a pool of candidates for superintendent to three.  

School Board President Debbie Friberg said the final candidates will be invited back for a second round of interviews Thursday through Saturday. 

The district began its search for a new school chief following Superintendent Rachel Boechler's resignation in January. The board hired Illinois-based consulting firm, Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates to aid in the search, fielding 28 applicants.

The candidates are:

• Richard Burchell, director of Fox Valley Career Center in the Kaneland Community Unit School District in Maple Park, IL;             
• Vance Dalzin; superintendent of the Williams Bay School District in Walworth County; and
• Laura Myrah, director of curriculum and instruction in the Whitefish Bay School District.

Burchell was the former principal of 11 years in the Kaneland Community Unit School District, before becoming director of the Fox Valley Career Center in July 2011, according to his public LinkedIn profile. He holds a doctorate in education from Northern Illinois University. 

Dalzin was principal at Whitewater High School for 12 years, before joining the Williams Bay School District as its superintendent in August 2011, according to the Janesville Gazette. He is an adjunct instructor at George Williams College of Aurora University in Williams Bay and holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Edgewood College. He brings with him 26 years of experience in education, his LinkedIn profile reads.

Before joining the Whitefish Bay School District in July 2009, Myrah was principal of Brookfield Elementary School in the Elmbrook School District, according a Whitefish Bay School District press release. Before that, she served as elementary principal in West Bend; a coordinator of gifted and talented education, and a third grade teacher and a kindergarten teacher in Port Washington.

She holds a master's degree in educational leadership from Cardinal Stritch University. She has roughly 21 years of experience in the educational field. 

A panel of staff, community members, administrators and School Board members will conduct the interviews in closed session.

Friberg said the district hopes to announce a new superintendent on May 15.