Photo by Joe Imel/Daily NewsS&R Excavation’s Michael Boards, of Bowling Green, uses a long-reach track excavator to demolish the Country Peddler building. Two buildings were torn down to make way for parking downtown.

Becky Evans wrote a tiny note to herself during the interview Friday with Warren County Public Schools interim Superintendent Tim Murley.

The Warren County School Board member said that out of the four candidates interviewed for the superintendent position, Murley was the only one who made references to students with every question asked by board Chairman Mike Wilson.

And that student focus was all Evans said she needed to know.

“Someone can have ideas and a vision, but if they’re not student-centered, that’s not a vision I want,” Evans said. “I want what’s best for my children … and I want what’s best for the children of Warren County, and I think Mr. Murley is the best fit.”

This morning the board hired Murley as its new head of schools following a nearly two-month process that netted 14 candidates and four finalists from as far away as Arizona.

A new contract will be drafted in December to keep Murley working in the same district where he has served in different capacities for nearly three decades.

Board members said today it was not an easy decision, as all four of the candidates referred by a screening committee of teachers, parents and administrators would have been “excellent superintendents.”

But in the end, the board said Murley was the best fit for the nearly 13,000-student district.

Wilson said with Leadership Strategies Group, the firm hired to assist in the hiring process, the board was able to have the most fair, open and thorough search process for superintendent.

He said all the candidates were given an equal opportunity to “sink or swim” when they were asked the same questions during their interviews.

“No one really sank, they were all excellent candidates,” Wilson said. “They all had lots of experience, but different experience, and we had to decide what experience was the best fit for this district.”

Wilson said it wasn’t only Murley’s home-field experience that made him the right candidate.

“In the beginning of this process, we set out a list of criteria we would like to see in an ideal candidate … such as integrity and vision,” Wilson said. “I pulled that list out the other night and Mr. Murley hit just about everything we were looking for.”

During the special meeting, Murley said he was “truly humbled” by the whole experience. He said he never envisioned being the head of schools when he started in Warren County as an agriculture teacher.

“I thank the board for putting the confidence and trust in me, and I think you know I will do the best job I can possibly do for the students,” Murley told the board. “I promise you every day, as I have done in the past, that I will do my best for the students of Warren County Schools.”

Murley said the first thing he would do was have his secretary call his 83-year-old mother, Ruth Murley, in Cumberland County to say “please hold for the Warren County Schools superintendent.”

But after the meeting, he couldn’t wait for the secretary to make the call.

“(My mother) said she was very proud of me. Actually, first she said ‘praise the Lord,’ and then she said she was proud of me and wishes she could be here,” he said.

Many of the board members said they were touched by Murley’s humbleness after interviewing Dennis Dearden, former superintendent of Marana Public Schools in Marana, Ariz.; Owens Saylor, deputy superintendent of Jessamine County Schools in Nicholasville; and D. Wade Stanfield, superintendent intern in Madison County Schools in Richmond.

Board member Don Basham immediately extended a challenge to Murley after the announcement, asking him to find one core content area that could be made textbook-free – the same challenge he made to recently retired superintendent Dale Brown.

“We expect great things out of you, Mr. Murley,” Basham said.

Board member Kerry Young said while he knew Murley had served the district as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and assessment coordinator, he discovered something else about his experience that made him stand out.

Young said he learned Murley is certified to provide scholastic review audits and has performed several successful enhancement plans for districts across Kentucky.

Young said Murley told the board that one team he led in Monroe County a few years ago has shown success in elementary schools that have jumped 30 points in some assessment and academic areas.

“When you have got someone with that talent, he’s strong in instruction, and he’s been doing it here already,” Young said. “The interviews came down to four good candidates and I feel the best person for Warren County Schools emerged from the process.”

Board member Garry Chaffin said it was a tough selection process but, “I do feel Warren County Schools will be moving forward with our selection.

“I was impressed with his dedication to the students and his vision for moving Warren County forward to make it not only a good system, but a great system,” Chaffin said.

The new superintendent’s wife, Lisa Murley, said the couple has dedicated their entire lives to education; she has taught for more than 20 years and is currently working in the education department at Western Kentucky University.

She said they have a vision for serving others that they have passed on to their two sons, and said she is proud to see her husband have the opportunity to share his passion on a larger scale.

“He thinks of this as an opportunity,” she said. “Everyone says education doesn’t stop at 3 o’clock and I know that because when he comes home, it is still so much a part of our lives. … When he was a teacher, he was passionate about that. When he was a principal, he was passionate about that and he has had a passion for every position he has had at the central office. I know he will bring that into this position.”

As new superintendent, Murley will be tasked with hiring his assistant to replace himself as well as other positions open in the district. He said his plan is to first meet with people across the district to get ideas for making the district even better.

“Although we’re unified as a district, I would like to pull us together even more in some areas, especially instruction,” Murley said. “I want to make sure the great things going on in the district are publicized and get out to everyone. … I just want to do my best every day to see this district gain the recognition it deserves.”