Alachua County Public Schools plans to begin accepting applications for its next permanent superintendent in November, with the goal of school board members selecting a candidate by the end of February.
In August, the School Board unanimously approved a $47,200 contact with McPherson & Jacobson to perform the superintendent search. Establishing the search schedule, gathering community feedback, interviewing and screening candidates, and helping the board in selecting a final candidate are all part of the company's five-phase process. Kamela Patton worked as interim superintendent at Alachua County Public Schools for almost two years.
Along with overseeing the district's everyday activities, the superintendent has the responsibilities of working with the School Board on setting budgets, hiring staff, and making important decisions for the district’s academics. The board on Wednesday held a workshop to review the process. Applications are tentatively expected to be open on Nov. 9 and close Jan. 4. Jackie Johnson, the district director of communications, said the first round of interviews is scheduled for the week of Feb. 1, followed by finalist interviews planned for the week of Feb. 8.
Community participation is going to be a key part of the search, according to Johnson, who said the district wants to have meetings in October with students, teachers, principals, food service workers, bus drivers, elected officials, business leaders and community organizations.
“Be on the lookout for invitations to participate in community meetings,” Johnson said, encouraging everyone to get involved.
After the stakeholder meetings at the end of October, the district plans to conduct a communitywide survey. The input will guide the district and search firm in choosing the characteristics that community members and district employees are looking for in the new superintendent along with the areas that they think the next leader should focus on.
School Board Member Sarah Rockwell said she will consider community feedback while evaluating applicants.
“I believe community buy-in and support is critical for a superintendent to be successful, so I will put a lot of weight on community input,” Rockwell said.
In addition, Rockwell said that she will look for a candidate who has successful experience in handling an Alachua County-sized school district. That kind of experience would show that a candidate has the fundamental skills needed to run the district, Rockwell said.
One of the biggest challenges the new superintendent is expected to encounter will be the leadership change, Rockwell said. In addition, the incoming superintendent will manage the district's strategic plan and help with setting short- and long-term goals.
Before finalists are chosen, candidates will go through a screening process, Johnson said. As the search goes on, it is expected that School Board members will have a chance to meet with candidates.
Another topic of discussion was compensation. A starting salary of about $230,000 could be appropriate for the superintendent, although a more experienced person may have different expectations, Johnson said.
During the interview process, the district’s goal is to find the most suitable candidate for the county. Even though contract negotiations could affect when the hiring process is officially over, Johnson said the goal is to come to a decision within two weeks or less after finalist interviews.
Rockwell said the search will be successful if the district hires a superintendent who remains in the position long term.
“I will consider this superintendent search successful if we hire a superintendent who stays with Alachua County for more than five years,” Rockwell said.