Superintendent Search Update - April 9, 2025

 President Gina Topp, true to form, ran a tight ship for today's special board meeting on the superintendent search. It was to be a 3-hour meeting but the directors didn't have a lot to say so it concluded in an hour and a half. 

It does not appear the Board is interested in an interim superintendent so it's full speed ahead on the search for a permanent superintendent.

All the board members participated except Director Liza Rankin who is traveling. Director Brandon Hersey said he had a professional colleague - Micah Ali - who was part of an organization that was applying. Mr. Ali is the president of the Compton School Board and I don't see the connection but that's what Hersey stated. 

Assistant Superintendent for Finance Kurt Buttleman was at the staff table with three other staffers from contracts and procurement. He said that there had been eight proposals from placement firms and the minimum criteria had weeded out three. 

So the Board had five choices to score. They not only scored the firms but needed to document their reasoning. But one member (not stated who) had not finished the scoring so they allowed a few minutes for a recess for that to happen; otherwise, that director could not participate in the choice.

The preliminary scoring by Board directors did NOT include the financials (which are 20% of the score).

It appeared that Director Michelle Sarju seemed lost and perhaps had not read the entire packet of info. Director Evan Briggs also asked a couple of questions that indicated the same for her.

Without the financials, the scores were:

The Hawkins Company - 64.29 

HYA (Hazard, Young, Attea &Associates) - 72.29

JG Consulting - 64.57

McPherson & Jacobson- 65.43

Ray and Associates 66.71

I note that I have not looked through these firms' websites at all. I'm just providing the info if readers are interested. I do plan to look at the three finalists and their info. 

If my memory serves, different boards in the past used Ray&Associates and HYA for previous searches. I did not like Ray&Associates at all.

Questions

Mizrahi said he liked McPherson but not their timeline to find a superintendent (he thought it too long). Buttleman said they couldn't ask now about a change but if McPherson was a finalist, then the question could be asked then.  

Sarju had to have the 20% scoring for the financials for each firm explained three times. Briggs also struggled to understand this part.

Briggs said that HYA stood out as the only firm to use "student outcomes" multiple times. Briggs is a big supporter of SOFG so no mystery there. I suppose HYA did their homework and knew that phrasing was important. She also said a lot of what was written by all the firms was "an extreme exercise in word salad." 

Director Sarah Clark liked McPherson, saying they have local folks and know this state. She said their search philosophy aligns with "our values." 

They then took a recess for staff to update scores and to include the financial score which has a specific formula that the district uses.

After rescoring:

McPherson - 84.3

HYA - 83.27

Ray&Associates - 83.21

The other two were much lower.

Topp asked if any directors wanted to just pick the top scorer or do interviews with top three.

Briggs asked if the "interview process could change things?" I honestly don't even understand, as an adult, how she could ask that question. 

Briggs, along with the other directors, all want to do interviews. 

The timeline now is for directors to put in interview questions by Monday, April 14th so firms can have them by Tuesday, April 15th. The three firms - McPherson, HYA, and Ray&Associates - will all get the same questions in advance. The interviews will be virtual ( but I would lay money that at least one firm will send a team to the interview).  

I would tell parents - if you have a question you think should be included for the search firm interviews, send it to the Board pronto.  spsdirectors@seattleschools.org

As to the timeline, it appears the Board does not need the meeting that they had tentatively scheduled for tomorrow. 

Timeline


Date                             Process Step


4/10/25                         Board Special Meeting (tentative). Work Session for the continuation of 4/9
preliminary evaluation and selection, if needed.

4/18/25                         Board Special Meeting. Interviews with top three firms, if needed.

4/23/25                         Board Special Meeting. Work Session: Board completes final scoring of top
three firms and determines final selection.

4/23/25                         Regular Board Meeting. Board Action on this Board Action Report, with an
amendment to incorporate the selected firm


Comments

Stuart J said…
In early 2022, the Highline School Board used HYA for their Supt search. This was after Dr Enfield had announced her resignation. I wrote extensive comments, and supplied a lot of data about how Highline was doing academically. I was disappointed when HYA's rep said they were not including any data in the job description or supporting materials. His comment was "we expect candidates to do their own research."

HYA presented three finalists: Dr Ivan Duran, who ultimately got the job, and two people from Seattle: Concie Pedroza (who later got a job in Tukwila) and Keisha Scarlett (who became Supt in St Louis but did not stay (last) very long.

I do not know the other search firms so it is hard to compare or evaluate them.
4/9/25, 11:25 PM
School Watcher said…
FWIW, Susan Enfield has taken a position leading the UW Center for Eductional Leadership. I know some had mentioned her as a possible SPS candidate but appears she's been snatched up.
4/10/25, 10:27 AM
Melissa Westbrook said…
Thanks, School Watcher.
4/10/25, 1:58 PM
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