Seattle School Board Superintendent Search

 That mystery Board meeting that I reported out for Tuesday DOES turn out to be their first step in finding a new leader for Seattle Schools. It's from 3-4 pm at JSCEE but will also be live-streamed on the district's YouTube channel. Agenda They are looking for a search firm to guide this work. 


The BAR documentation shows they are looking around regionally at who else is seeking a new superintendent. They include Bremerton, Evergreen, Kennewick, Port Angeles, and Walla Walla, among others. There is no district even near SPS's size.

They are also using the Washington State School Directors' Association (WSSDA) handbook. I did like this:

The involvement of staff members in directing the search process may contribute to an impression that some staff members are closer to the new person. 

They think they can do this work for around $100,000. 

The timing is:

- March to send out requests for proposals for search firms

-  April 7th applications are due

- Sometime in late April one firm is selected and starts the process. The work continues through the spring including several community engagement plans, the posting of the position and then, after they pick 2-3 finalists, there will be visits by the candidates. 

Evaluation Criteria (for the Search Firm)                                        Points

Qualifications – 80%


Approach and methodology for recruitment and selection that
aligns with SPS’s values                                                                     25


Proven track record of successful placements.                                   15


Experience and expertise in educational executive searches.             15


Approach and methodology for engaging community and system
stakeholders.                                                                                       15


Understanding of SPS’s context, challenges, and opportunities
including completing the search by the timeline directed in the
Statement of Work                                                                              10


Pricing – 20%
Price of Services                                                                                20

- Into early summer, the Board hopes to select a candidate and conduct contract negotiations. 

- New super starts in September. 

So that's quite the pace and I see they want to get this done before summer. Good luck to that!

I do note that they use SOFG language in saying that the candidates must be committed to those goals and guardrails.  

 

 Here's a version of Superintendent Search for Dummies. 

I had to laugh at this: When was the job description last updated? In Seattle Schools, the superintendent job description is ALWAYS updated. 

Also interesting:

Keep in mind that job interviews and related meetings for superintendents and other "executive level employment positions(s)" are exempt from Freedom of Information requirements. 

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