BOE Musical, The Search Continues
In the game of musical chairs, contestants walk slowly around empty seats while music is playing, and when the music stops everyone attempts to sit down. There is always one less seating spot then contestants, so by process of elimination, during each round on seat is removed and one more contestant is eliminated. Until there’s one person left standing. The winner of course is the person sitting.
Now that we have the rules of the game explained, let’s listen to the music.
Corda resigns in June.
The BOE hires an interim Superintendent in July.
The BOE makes itself the search committee in August.
The BOE discusses what to do about finding a new superintendent in September.
The BOE plans to hold a meeting in October to determine whether to hire a search firm or not.
The election of possible new BOE members is in November.
BOE member Susan Hamilton has recognized the game, quoted in this Hour article.
“We do have some time constraints, and I think that it’s because we are hiring a new superintendent in the middle of a school year. It’s important that we have a search firm because I think one of the things they could do for us is vet the candidates and I think that’s important because we need to kind of focus on who’s there … We don’t have the luxury of months and months.”
Then there’s the rest of the BOE.
Board member Glenn Iannaccone asked what cost would be incurred if the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education services were used for the search, and Murray said she didn’t want to “run out ahead of the board” and obtain estimates until the board decided if they wanted a search firm.
Board member Greg Burnett said he would support a search firm but said funding should be looked into because “you get what you pay for.”
Board treasurer Jack Chiaramonte said he wanted to know how in depth a search firm would go. If it was just going to post ads for the position, he said, the search committee could do that, but the firm should find some quality candidates for the position.
Papallo recommended the board outline exactly what members want from search firm and perhaps provide a job description. He also said a search firm from the tri-state area may be best and there are several good, local firms who understand state statutes and culture.
Murray and board member Shirley Mosby also noted confidentiality would be paramount in the search.
“I would support the search firm because it will bring back … the confidentiality component,” said Mosby. “To get a person of quality for this district, we need to make sure that person is protected.”
Finally, Burnett said it was important to have a “diverse candidate slate,” and Murray agreed that should be discussed with a search firm.
I would think that the most important step in the hiring process should be determining what skill set and experience you are looking for. So maybe this BOE should have spent some time discussing qualifications. Or how about announcing what the timeline is for this search. Things like a “search committee to be in place by August, for the position to be advertised starting in September, and for a new superintendent to be named sometime between February and April of next year.” Remarkably, under the same timeframe, the city of Newtown Mass managed this task.
Newtown’s search committee:
The search committee will consist of two School Committee members, two principals, two teachers, one secretarial or custodial employee, two administrators, two high school students and eight community members.
Newtown’s latest status is that on 9/4 they announced the search committee, after reviewing applications from people who wanted to be on the committee. Then they posted the names and bios on their web site.
If you were interviewing for a superintendent job, which committee would you want to apply with?
