The Lexington County School District One Board of Trustees has selected three finalists, all of them current school district superintendents around the country, for the position of superintendent/superintendent-elect.

Chris Ballenger, Keith Price and Erin Slater are the finalists and each of them were present at the April 8 meet and greet where members of the public and the district got to shake their hands and ask them for their plans should they be selected. 

Ballenger is the current superintendent of Warren County Public Schools in Virginia and holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Southwestern College.

“I think it’s important that we keep our focus on students,” he told the Chronicle, adding that he would work to address classroom capacities. “I would be a part of a team that would come in to make sure that if we have those staffing standards put in place that we're giving our teachers an opportunity to be in an environment that's really conducive to learning because now they're able to manage, now they're able to get that one-on-one because it's the relationships that drives education.”

Price is the current superintendent of the Georgetown County School District in South Carolina and he is currently pursuing a doctorate of education from the University of South Carolina.

“Lexington One is a phenomenal district,” he told the Chronicle, adding that during the meet and greet, numerous locals shared with him that they desire to see more efficiency within the district. “There is so much to be proud of – strong academic reputation, successful athletic programs, numerous arts opportunities for students and you've got an engaged community. … There seems to be a lot of excitement about consistency and continuity and getting systems in place.”

Slater is the current superintendent of Fort Madison Community School District in Fort Madison, Iowa and she holds a doctorate in education from Northern Illinois University. 

“[Lexington One] is extremely impressive on paper and even more impressive in person,” she told the Chronicle, adding that the meet and greet gave her the chance to hear from locals that they have concerns with organization and hope that the new superintendent can address that. “[I want to] make sure that there's equity for students so they have equal access to programming, equal access to facilities, equal access to instructional, that instructional strategy that will elevate them for their pathway whether they want to be in a college pathway, a career pathway or a military pathway.”

The final round of interviews took place after the meet and greet.

Each of the finalists’ resumes are available to view online.