School Committee votes on Superintendent Search items during October 21 Special Meeting

On October 21, the School Committee held a special session to discuss the status of the Superintendent Search and vote on two items. Jeff Melendez and Aresta Johnson of Hazard, Young & Attea (HYA), the firm selected by the City to consult on the search, began the meeting by giving an overview of the search process.

The recruiters cited four phases of the Search: community engagement, active recruiting of candidates pursuant to a Leadership Profile that HYA and Search Committee construct from community feedback, candidate selection, and transitioning the new hire into the position.

Ms. Johnson did the majority of the speaking for HYA. She estimated approximately 40 candidates would apply for the NPS Superintendent position, and HYA would curate those applications to 8-10 candidates that HYA will recommend to the Search Committee for detailed vetting. The Search Committee and HYA will then choose 3-4 finalists to recommend to the School Committee for the final hiring decision. All candidate information will be held in confidence until the finalists are announced.

Following the HYA process overview, School Committee member Paul Levy (Ward 6) put forth a motion, seconded by member Chris Brezski (Ward 2), which specified that following HYA and the Search Committee drafting of the Leadership Profile, the School Committee must vote to issue the final Leadership Profile and any accompanying Statement of Qualifications, along with any changes or modifications added by the School Committee, prior to HYA utilizing the Profile to recruit candidates.

Mr. Levy justified his motion by stating the School Committee has the mandate and authority to hire the Superintendent, and ultimately it will be held accountable by voters for the performance of the new hire. School Committee Chair and Search Committee Co-Chair Tamika Olszewski raised a concern that if the School Committee altered a Leadership Profile that is derived from community feedback, the will of the community may be diluted. The motion passed with six members voting Yes: Mr. Brezski, Anping Shen (Ward 3), Emily Prenner (Ward 5, Search Committee Co-Chair), Mr. Levy, Cove Davis (Ward 8), and Mayor Fuller. Ms. Olszewski voted No, Kathy Shields (Ward 7) abstained, and Rajeev Parlikar (Ward 1) was not present.

Samples of Leadership Profiles from HYA searches in Paterson, NJ and Anne Arundel Country, MD can be found here in the School Committee meeting materials.

Following this vote, the School Committee discussed authorizing the Search Committee to make nominal expenditures for items such as translation services and advertising the open position in education trade magazines. Mr. Levy stated that piecemeal approval of small items could be more efficiently accomplished by authorizing a larger lump-sum to the Search Committee. He then put forth another motion authorizing the Search Co-Chairs (Ms. Olszewski and Ms. Prenner) to spend up to $25,000 to more fully engage the community, provide travel expenses for candidates, and for other purposes as the Search Co-Chairs deem helpful to the Search. The motion passed 8-0.

A replay of the meeting can be found on NewTV here.