By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

The Pelham Board of Education will work to have a full-time superintendent named “by the end of spring” after advertising for the position through March, School Board members announced during their Feb. 24 meeting.

During the meeting, School Board Attorney Carl Johnson presented a tentative timeline for naming the upcoming school system’s first full-time leader.

“The goal would be for the board to make a decision, not hastily, but as soon as practical (after the screening process),” Johnson told School Board members, noting the person selected as superintendent likely will be “ready to start assuming some responsibility by the end of spring.

“We want that person to be fully familiar with the system and hit the ground running as of July 1,” Johnson said.

The person selected to serve as the city’s first school superintendent will take the reins of the upstart school system after current Interim Superintendent Dr. Tim Alford’s term ends in June.

During the Feb. 24 meeting, Johnson announced the vacancy for the full-time superintendent’s spot, and said the School Board is planning to post the job opening by early March.

The job posting will remain live through the end of March, at which point the School Board will begin screening and interviewing the top superintendent candidates.

“That is another exciting part of the process to see this get off and running,” School Board President Rick Rhoades said.