Here are the Finalists to be Michigan’s Next State Superintendent

The State of Michigan's Board of Education has narrowed the list of applicants for the next State Superintendent to five candidates.

Michigan's Board of Education reviewed all 51 applicants before announcing the five finalists on April 5. The finalists are:

• Jeanice Swift, Superintendent, Ann Arbor Public Schools
• Michael Rice, Superintendent, Kalamazoo Public Schools
• Randy Liepa, Superintendent, Wayne RESA
• G. Eric Thomas, Chief Turnaround Officer, Georgia Board of Education
• Brenda Cassellius, Immediate Past Minnesota Commissioner of Education

Applications for the position came in from 11 different states.

The finalists will take part in public interviews on April 22 and April 24. Candidates will be further narrowed at the April 24 meeting. Another public interview will take place on May 7. At the end of the May 7 meeting, the next State Superintendent is expected to be named.

The position opened last spring after the death of State Superintendent Brian Whiston. Chief Deputy Superintendent Sheila Alles was appointed Interim State Superintendent at that time.