By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Alabaster Board of Education will accept applications for the city’s school superintendent position through March 31, and will look to have the position filled by May 1.

The announcement came during a Feb. 27 School Board meeting at the Alabaster Senior Center, during which BOE members laid out the process for hiring the full-time superintendent.

After accepting applications for the position through the end of March, the School Board will interview candidates through April and will name the superintendent by May 1, according to a tentative timeline laid out during the meeting.

The School Board will post the superintendent job opening across the state “by the end of the week,” said School Board Attorney Carl Johnson.

“I think you have every reason to be optimistic about the pool of applicants you will receive,” said Alabaster Interim School Superintendent Dr. Phillip Hammonds, whose interim term will end on June 30.

Hammonds previously said he will leave it up to the School Board to decide who serves as superintendent after June 30.

The person selected as the Alabaster school district’s full-time superintendent must be available no later than July 1, BOE members said.

The salary range for the full-time superintendent will be between $150,000-$170,000, but the number is negotiable “based on the successful candidate’s experience and proven track record of success,” according to a job description approved by the School Board.

“That (range) is consistent with what we’ve seen with similar systems in terms of size and demographics,” said School Board member Ty Quarles. “It’s not an arbitrary number.”

According the job description, all superintendent applicants must hold a four-year college degree, “certification or eligibility for certification in administration and recognized ability as a school administrator, five years successful experience and general knowledge of public school administration” and have a “general fitness and character appropriate to the position.”

Previous superintendent experience is preferred, School Board members said. All applicants also must submit three references.

“I think this (posting) will generate a great level of interest,” Hammonds said.