Columbia Public Schools to host virtual public forum
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia Public Schools is set to host a virtual public forum Thursday for the district's three superintendent finalists. These finalists include Dr. Harold Brian Yearwood (Manor, Texas), Dr. Chace Ramey (Iowa City, Iowa), and Dr. Erick Pruitt (Chicago, Illinois).
The public forum is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and will be streamed on the district's website.
Watch a livestream replay of the public forum when it starts in the media player below.
The CPS Board of Education is asking the public to submit questions for the forum here.
Questions must be submitted by 8:00 a.m. on Thursday for consideration.
The school district hopes to pick from one of its' three finalists by the end of the month.
Dr. Harold Brian Yearwood
Yearwood is currently the chief operations officer for the Manor Independent School District in Manor, Texas.
According to the CPS website, Yearwood has served in education for 30 years and currently oversees a $286 million dollar bond in his current position.
According to Yearwood's Linkedin profile, he has been teaching diversity graduate classes at Texas Tech University for 16 years and taught at Lubbock Christian University for a little over 9 years.
Yearwood holds a Bachelor of Science in geology, a Master in Education Administration and a Doctor of Education from Texas Tech University.
Dr. Chace Ramey
Ramey is currently chief operating officer in the Iowa City Community School District.
According to the Iowa City Community School District website, he joined the district in 2012 and served as the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources until 2015. He then joined Fairfax County Public Schools in Fairfax, Virginia to serve as the HR Assistant Superintendent. Ramey returned to the Iowa City Community School District in 2018.
Ramey has previous ties to Missouri as he worked for the Kansas City Missouri School District from 2010-2012 as Chief of Staff and primary assistant to the superintendent according to his Linkedin.
He holds a law degree and PhD from the University of Iowa according to the CPS website.
Dr. Erick Pruitt
Pruitt is the current deputy chief of high school for Chicago Public Schools.
Pruitt previously served as the Area Superintendent of the Houston Independent School District from 2016-2018 according to his Linkedin. He also served in the United States Marine Corps for almost 7 years according to his profile.
The CPS district website says Pruitt has served as a teacher, principal, and district leader for over 22 years for all age levels. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Purdue University, Masters in Education from Loyola University Chicago, and Doctorate in Education from National Louis University.
The district's website includes more information about the three finalists.
All of the candidates have been contacted for comment on the story.
