Board to interview Whitefish finalists

The Whitefish school board will interview superintendent candidates after spring break.

The school district has been hunting for a superintendent to replace Jerry House, who will retire June 30 after 11 years at the helm of Whitefish schools.

McPherson & Jacobson, an Omaha, Neb.-based recruitment and development firm, helped the district conduct the search. Consultants reviewed and screened 22 applicants from 11 states.

At a special board meeting Tuesday, the consultants presented information about the applicants who most closely matched the selection criteria the school board had established. Trustees then selected three finalists to interview: Kathryn Orozco, Robert K. Gratz and J.T. Stroder.

Orozco is the associate superintendent of the North Platte, Neb., school district. There are about 4,100 students in the district, which includes 10 elementary schools, two middle schools, a high school and an alternative high school.

The board will interview Orozco April 4.

Gratz is superintendent of the Hackettstown, N.J., school district. There are two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school in the district, which has about 2,000 students.

Gratz was named New Jersey Association of School Administrators’ Northern Regional Superintendent of the Year in 2010. His interview is scheduled April 5.

Stroder is superintendent of the school district in Ingram, Texas. There are more than 1,100 students in the district, which includes an elementary school, middle school and high school.

Trustees will interview Stroder April 6.

The school board will make its decision by April 12.