Candidates for the position of Webster City High School principal will be interviewed this week, according to Dr. Mandy Ross, school superintendent.

Ross told the school board Monday night that five candidates will face the panel of interviewers.

“We’ll have about 37 people involved in the process,” she said, including staff members, teachers, students, board members and parents.

The superintendent said in addition to the interview, the candidates will be asked to do a performance test around data analysis with a presentation and questions and answers. They will also tackle a writing task.

A total of 17 completed applications were received for the position, which Ross said was a solid response for an Iowa principal position.

“We did have a really nice pool of candidates, and honestly, with the five people we’re moving forward, we should be easily able to find a strong candidate,” Ross said.

The candidate selected will replace Brent Jorth, current principal, who has accepted a position at Central Lyon School District.

Board member Michelle Walters told the board that Monday’s meeting was her last. She submitted her resignation to the board last month as she and her family are moving to Michigan.

“I’ve had a lot of fun,” she said.

“And you’ve been a great addition to the board,” said Ross.

Board member Linda Williams asked about the time frame for finding Walters’ replacement.

“It’s been posted in the Freeman-Journal, which is required by law. So that sets the clock ticking once we received her resignation. We’ve got 30 days,” Ross said.

“We’re going to have to move forward at the next meeting,” she said.

So far, Ross added, one person has expressed interest in being on the board.

Anyone interested is asked to contact Cathi Hildebrand at the administration building.

The board also heard a presentation by Erin Miller, director of teaching and learning, on the conditions for learning, part of the district’s state reporting.

Miller discussed a survey given last year to grades 5th through 11th. The students take the survey which asks questions about how they feel about their school, their teachers, fellow students and learning experiences.

“This is student perception data. There is no other data that goes into it,” she said.

For the high school students, 45 percent gave positive responses about their school, slightly below the state average of 47.46 percent. She said it wasn’t uncommon for schools to have less than 50 percent positive response.

The highest positive response at the high school was physical safety with 56.38 percent. Student to student relationships ranked the lowest of the categories at 32.52 percent.

At the middle school, Miller said 42 percent had a positive response to the school. Adult-student relationships ranked the highest of the categories with 55.87 percent. Two categories ranking lowest were student to student relationships with 31.55 percent and emotional safety at 31.79 percent.

Miller said that the data represented only two classes at the high school. This year, the survey will be given next month and will encompass all four grades at the high school.

The board also had a demonstration of the new online calendar. Activities Director Joe Shanks gave an overview of how to receive notifications about coming events.