The targeted hiring date for the district’s new top administrator is set for April with the goal to have the selected candidate on the job before Vail leaves for retirement at the end of July.
Administrators, teachers, clerical staff, bus drivers and students – “stakeholders,” school board President Dale Toadvine calls them — were all part of meetings before a community forum last week.
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“What we really want to do is involve the stakeholders,” Toadvine said. “The superintendent is the figurehead of the school district and (they) touch everybody’s life in some way.”
“Information that’s gathered will first serve to fill the need from our stakeholders,” he added. “That information will be further used as part of interview questions. It may be a question or a concern that our stakeholders have.”
The district is working with K-12 Business Consulting Inc. through the Montgomery County Educational Services Center to narrow the search. The job will offer an annual base salary that will range from $130,000 to $155,000, depending on experience.
Among the qualities outlined in the job posting:
•A leader who is skilled at team building who will work with the board, administration and staff to build buy-in for district improvement; and someone who can publicly celebrate and market the successes of the school district;
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•A person with excellent analytical, planning and organizational skills to maintain a strategic direction;
•A leader who will keep the board fully informed and current with matters about the schools.
Toadvine said he favors an “an advocate for our students,” but mostly is “looking for a collaborator….to reach out to stakeholders.”
“That’s what’s important for a good leader – whether you’re a superintendent or president of the United States,” he said.
The Columbus area K-12 has overseen about 200 administration hiring processes, Toadvine said. K-12 oversaw the survey process, led the forums last week, will deliver the candidate profile and will help formulate interview questions.
One group of stakeholders may be interested in a certain topic, while another group may have a different priority, Toadvine said.
For instance, he said, teachers or staff members may raise factors such as how a candidate would approach contract negotiations with collective bargaining units.
A concern coming out of the students’ meeting was how the district would address future mental and physical wellness issues, Toadvine said.
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HIRING TIMELINE
•Feb. 3 to March 13: Candidate recruitment period.
•Feb. 25: School board gets profile for potential candidates.
•March 13: Application deadline.
•March 17: Candidate screening meeting.
•March 23-30: Candidate interviews.
•April 16: Tentative hiring date.
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