Is Beaufort County schools superintendent Jeff Moss applying for other jobs?

Correction: Information on the search firms involved in North Carolina's Lee County Schools superintendent position in 2008 and 2013 was corrected April 25.

Beaufort County School District superintendent Jeff Moss will not say if he has applied or submitted his name for other jobs to the search firm that named him as an alternate finalist for an out-of-state position last week.

The Alabama Board of Education named Moss as the alternate last Friday in its search for the next state superintendent. The board will interview four finalists Friday — one day before the Beaufort County school board's $76 million referendum.

If one of the four finalists drops out, Moss may take his or her place.

Asked Tuesday evening if he had booked a plane ticket to interview for the position this Friday, Moss said, "I'm not going to comment on any of that right now."

Asked if he had applied elsewhere or given the search firm permission to use his name in other searches, Moss again declined to comment.

Three of the four finalists said Tuesday that they planned to interview for the position Friday. A spokesman for the fourth candidate did not confirm or deny her plans, instead deferring questions to the search firm assisting in the hire. The firm did not return phone messages.

A posting for the Alabama position required applicants to submit a letter of qualifications, resume and four letters of recommendation. The post says the search closed three weeks ago.

Moss told principals in an email that he gave the firm permission to put his name forward two weeks ago. He told the board, his employer, he "did not pursue this position."

At least two Beaufort County school board members — board secretary David Striebinger and board member Joseph Dunkle — requested that the topic of a superintendent succession plan be placed on the agenda of Tuesday's board meeting, according to an email exchange shared with The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette. They asked for the discussion to include whether any district employee is qualified to fill that role internally should Moss leave before his contract is up in 2020.

"I consider this an emergency and pressing issue," Dunkle wrote in an email.

Board vice-chairwoman Geri Kinton wrote back that the topic would be more appropriate to include at a work session slated for late April, which happens to be scheduled after the Saturday referendum. She said addressing the topic during the work session would allow more time for discussion and more time for Moss to put together a presentation.

"Without a recommendation there is really not much to discuss," she wrote.

The topic was not touched on during Tuesday's five-hour board meeting.

Meanwhile, three of the four finalists confirmed their plans to interview for the Alabama state superintendent position, meaning it's unlikely Moss will be called to Montgomery for an interview.

Robert Scott, a former education commissioner in Texas who currently works with the Texas Star Alliance, a bipartisan public affairs firm, is set to travel to Alabama.

“(I) booked my flight and my hotel,” he said. “I’m planning on being there.”

Eric Mackey, executive director of the School Superintendents of Alabama, also said in an email that he planned to interview for the position.

Craig Pouncey — superintendent of Jefferson County Schools, the state’s second-largest school district — confirmed his plans to interview through his executive secretary, Barbara Littles.

The fourth finalist is Kathy Murphy, superintendent of Hoover City Schools, a district in the metro Birmingham area. Jason Gaston, the district’s public relations coordinator, did not confirm Murphy's plans to interview in a Tuesday email, instead deferring inquiries to Ray and Associates, an Iowa-based search firm assisting in the Alabama hire.

Two messages left with a secretary at Ray and Associates went unreturned.

The Beaufort County school board hired Ray and Associates in its last superintendent search and selected Moss among 11 candidates in 2013.

In a news release at that time, the firm described Moss as "highly visible and approachable in the community" and "fearless in pursuit of best practices for teachers and students."

The Lee County (N.C.) school board considered hiring the firm in 2013 when the board sought its next superintendent after Moss left for Beaufort County School District, but did not end up hiring a search firm, according to Lee County Schools spokeswoman Sharon Spence.

Moss was selected for the Lee County superintendent position in 2008 through National Search & Education Consulting, according to firm chief executive officer Donny Hunter.

This story was originally published April 18, 2018 at 10:56 AM with the headline "Is Beaufort County schools superintendent Jeff Moss applying for other jobs?."