“Cast a wider net” were the words Ken Roberts with Alabama Association of School Boards used to describe the next step in Hartselle Board of Education’s search for a new chief school financial officer.

According to Roberts, one of the reasons the first search was not successful could be that the search took place in a region of the state that has very little turnover. By increasing the search area to all four major markets of the state – Huntsville, Montgomery, Birmingham and Mobile – he believes the results should be better.

Roberts recommended that the board add the salary range of $74,000 and $94,000 to the announcement and increase the application period to three weeks.

Board president Dr. James Joy said the board prefers to have a CSFO with public school and central office experience. Only one candidate had this type background during the first round of interviews.

Superintendent Dr. Mike Reed added that the board “owed it to the new CSFO to keep their salary competitive.”