Prosper ISD's Board of Trustees is interviewing candidates for the district's next permanent superintendent, the district confirmed in its Sept. 8 newsletter.

The update marks a shift from the previous week, when the district's Sept. 1 newsletter said the board was still reviewing supplemental applications from selected candidates. No finalist or hire has been announced.

The board voted 7-0 on May 18 to hire Impact Education Specialists to lead the search for a new leader of a district serving more than 34,000 students. Doug Williams, a partner at the firm, laid out a timeline at a June 17 board work session projecting that interviews would begin around Labor Day and that the new superintendent would start sometime during the fall semester, Community Impact reported.

"We're not going to be going after the best superintendent," Williams said at the June 17 session. "We're going to be going after the best superintendent for you."

The interviews are on schedule with that projection.

The search opened after Superintendent Holly Ferguson retired following six years leading the district and 23 years of total service to Prosper ISD. Deputy Superintendent Bill McLaughlin was named acting superintendent during a May 26 special meeting and continues to lead day-to-day operations. McLaughlin has 33 years of experience in public education and four years at Prosper ISD, where he previously served as executive director of Human Resources, chief of School Leadership and Innovation and deputy superintendent.

The board held two special closed sessions on the search, on Aug. 17 and Aug. 25, as we reported on the closed sessions. The Aug. 25 agenda contained only two items: deliberation on the search process and deliberation on the employment of a new superintendent. Neither session produced a public announcement.

All search deliberations have taken place behind closed doors under Texas open-meetings law. The district has not disclosed how many candidates are being interviewed or whether interviews are in-person or virtual.

The next regular Board of Trustees meeting is Monday, Sept. 28.