Oklahoma City Public Schools could have a new superintendent as soon as this weekend

The Oklahoma City Public Schools district could have a new superintendent as soon as this weekend.

The district’s board of education held a special meeting on Wednesday afternoon at the Skirvin Hotel, which included an executive session “to interview applicants” for superintendent.

There’s another special board meeting scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday at the district’s Clara Luper Center for Educational Services and Board Clerk Craig Cates said it’s expected the new superintendent will be named at that meeting. He said the agenda for that meeting could be posted as soon as Thursday, although by law it wouldn’t need to be posted until Friday at 9 a.m.

On Wednesday, after voting upon on agenda items held over from a regular meeting scheduled for Monday – which was postponed due to a severe weather outbreak that day – the board adjourned into closed session. Reporters weren’t allowed to wait outside the meeting room in the hotel where the candidates for the job would be interviewed.

All but one of the current seven members of the board were present for the open portion of the meeting. District 7 representative Meg McElhaney was absent. District 5 is currently without a representative after the resignation last month of Adrian Anderson.

Whomever is selected as the new superintendent will replace Sean McDaniel, who submitted a surprise resignation on Feb. 26. McDaniel said then an “irreconcilable” difference of opinion with a board member led him to the decision to step down, effective June 30, after six years in the position.

Although that board member never has been publicly identified, emails obtained by The Oklahoman indicated an increasing level of disagreement over the last few months between McDaniel and board leaders, including chair Paula Lewis and vice chair Lori Bowman, especially concerning issues regarding charter schools sponsored by the district.

McDaniel is the longest-serving Oklahoma City Public Schools superintendent since Arthur Steller, who held the job from 1985 through November 1992. Oklahoma City Public Schools has about 33,000 students and is second only to Tulsa Public Schools in size among Oklahoma’s brick-and-mortar school districts.

More: Disputes between McDaniel and OKCPS shouldn't throw off search for new superintendent, board leader says

Board votes to move along multiple construction projects related to 2022 bond proposal

During the open portion of Wednesday’s meeting, the board advanced multiple construction projects related to the $955 million bond proposal approved by district voters in November 2022. Scott Randall, the district’s chief operations officer, presented information on projects that will result in a major remodel of Taft Middle School , 2901 NW 23rd St., and the construction of a new middle school at SE 25th Street and High Avenue.

At Taft, plans call for a renovation of the original building and the construction of two new wings. The building’s current auditorium will be demolished, Randall said. The board has a construction management agreement with Lingo Construction for the Taft Project and with Willowbrook Construction for the new middle school, which will be built on vacant land now owned by the district.

The board has a construction management agreement with Manhattan Construction Co. for a new elementary school at SW 29th Street and Walker Avenue, another bond project. Adelaide Lee Elementary School currently sits at the site. The new building, to be built on land that currently serves as a playground, will connect with the current building’s recently constructed gymnasium. Once it’s built and open to students in August 2026, the district will tear down the old Adelaide Lee building, Randall said. The board voted Wednesday to take final action on final plans and specifications for the project and for the advertisement of project bids.

The board also voted to authorize the Oklahoma City Redevelopment Authority to negotiate a final sale and purchase agreement for the district’s former headquarters building at 900 N. Klein Ave. A group known as CoAlign presented a redevelopment proposal last month to the board, which the board approved Wednesday.

Once the sale price and purchase agreement are negotiated, the board will have to approve them as well before the project could begin. The building will remain district property until then.

The building formerly served as Roosevelt School before being used as the district headquarters building from 1955 until 2017 , when it was abandoned.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma City Public Schools could have a new superintendent as soon as this weekend