Lone superintendent finalist lauded by board
WISD board praises Bartosh for prior experience, management skills developed in Granger ISD
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

As far as Wharton ISD Board of Trustees President Don Erdelt is concerned, the district is getting the best of the best in naming Dr. James Bartosh as the lone finalist in the district's search for a new superintendent.

"We had a number of really highly qualified professional educators apply for the position, which is something we're really pleased with," he said.

"We interviewed five of the 22 candidates that applied and just felt that Bartosh had the qualities we were looking for in a superintendent."

Erdelt cited experience as one of the things the trustees were looking for and Bartosh has it having been the superintendent of the Granger ISD since 1999.

"He's been a superintendent for some time and with a smaller district," Erdelt said.

"That means he wasn't able to delegate as much of the overall work and has a great deal of hands on experience.

"You have to remember every school district in the state has to follow the same set of rules and regulations so he's dealt with a lot of issues."

That kind of balanced background on issues ranging from school finance to curriculum issues is what the board was looking for, Erdelt said.

"He was the most balanced candidate," he said.

"He's managed bond fund projects and even helped pass a rollback election to help maintain the solvency of his district."

Even before Bartosh was selected as the finalist, Erdelt said he showed an enthusiasm for the community.

"(Bartosh and his wife Debora) came down for a Friday interview and then stayed through the weekend," Erdelt said.

"So even before he was named the finalist, he was demonstrating his enthusiasm. And he'd already done a lot of research on the community and school district and understood some of the challenges he will be facing."

After naming Bartosh as the finalist, the district must wait 21 days before he can be actually hired for the position. Erdelt said that time will be used to negotiate a contract.

"We're ahead of schedule on the hiring," Erdelt said. "So we should have no problem having him in place by June, which is a comfort."

In discussing the board's decision, Erdelt said the most telling point was that the vote was a unanimous 7-0 to name Bartosh the finalist.

"I think that level of acceptance by the board is extremely important," he said.

"It is a reflection of the comfort we feel with him and I think will be equally important in his acceptance by the community, which should be even better under the circumstances."