The Public Eye: Schools pay search firms to find superintendent candidates
Published: Saturday, Aug. 23, 2014 - 9:54 pm
Last Modified: Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014 - 12:03 am
Finding a new school district superintendent can be an arduous and expensive process.
Districts host public meetings, advertise in national publications and sift through dozens of résumés before conducting interviews for the position. Once trustees select finalists, they sometimes travel to glean additional information from colleagues of the job candidates.
In many cases, districts are paying tens of thousands of dollars to executive search firms to find potential superintendents.
The area’s largest school district, Elk Grove Unified, is in the midst of an effort to replace Superintendent Steven Ladd, who is retiring on Sept. 12. The 62,000-student district agreed to pay $29,000 to McPherson & Jacobson LLC to conduct the search, as well as cover expenses for travel, advertising, phone calls, background checks and office expenses.
Since Elk Grove Unified hired the firm on July 15, the company has led eight community meetings and 25 smaller gatherings with teachers, students and other stakeholders to help determine the characteristics that community members want in a superintendent. The district also has set up an online survey at www.egusd.net.
Though Ladd has been at the helm for more than nine years, the average superintendent tenure is only 41/2 years nationwide, 31/2years in metropolitan areas, according to Thomas Jacobson, CEO of McPherson & Jacobson. The short terms are due to a number of factors such as the highly political nature of the job and the fact that their bosses on the school board are constantly changing, he said.
Besides attracting candidates and soliciting ideas from the community, executive search companies generally evaluate applications, check references and develop interview questions to be used by the board. Consultants usually arrange interviews and sit in on them.
Sacramento City Unified’s school board spent six months conducting a search prior to hiring Superintendent José L. Banda, who started in July. The district paid $39,500 to LeadershipThe Public Eye: Schools pay search firms to find superintendent candidates - Our Region - The Sacramento Bee: