The Newton County School District Board of Trustees wants to have a new superintendent in place by July 1, 2023, but the timeline will be tight to get there.
The process for the search began on Thursday night when the Mississippi Association of School Boards met with the trustees to give them an overview of what they have to do. Denotris Jackson, Executive Director of MSBA, and Dr. Tommye Henderson, Superintendent Search Manager, described all of the steps in the process and answered questions of each board member.
Here is an overview of the timeline they discussed
Board member questionnaires
Each of the trustees was given a survey covering a wide range of qualities they would like to see in a new superintendent. The school board members agreed to fill out the survey and fax or email their answers by no later than Jan. 18.
What’s next?
• MSBA representatives said they could compile the results a return a report of their preferences and build a draft of the job qualifications.
• Once school board members sign off on the qualifications, MSBA would then be able to post the job, tentatively by Feb. 1, and the job posting would stay active for four weeks. The deadline to submit resumes would be tentatively around March 1.
Time for Public input
While applications are being accepted, MSBA has recommended having public input on the superintendent search whether by in-person meetings with stakeholders and/or by an anonymous survey. A report on the public input would then be delivered to the school board for them to assist on making a decision and could also assist the incoming superintendent on developing a strategic plan.
“I would love to see us have a way to involve the community in the search to let the people have a chance to give their input,” said new board member Kenneth Thompson.
Researching the candidates
After the March application deadline, MSBA will compile the applications and provide a report on each candidate determining if they meet state legal qualifications adopted in 2017 and the qualifications the school board has approved. They said they would also vet the candidates through interviews and reviewing their job history.
By the end of March or Early April, MSBA projects that they would deliver the candidate files containing their applications and reports on what qualifications have been met.
Owning the decision
Jackson MSBA will not make a recommendation, but they will deliver a report identifying which candidates meet the criteria and who does not. Also, all applications will remain anonymous to the school board until MSBA delivers its report to the district.
“We’re not going to make the decision for you,” Jackson said. “But we will give you everything you need to help you make that decision. This is your decision, and the board has to own that decision.
Interview process
Once the board reviews the candidates, they will select finalists to be interviewed by the school board scheduled for a certain day on a day in April or early May. MSBA would contact the finalists, arrange the interviews and provide a list of sample questions for the board to use in the interviews.
After interviews are completed, the school board could select a finalist.
Doing a final background check
Prior to offering the position, Jackson and Henderson also recommended doing a deep background check for an extra fee to make sure there were no issues.
“You want to make sure that you know everything you can about the candidate before they take the position,” Henderson said. “They’re going to be the leader of your district and your children. You want to make sure that you find out all that you can.”
Offering the job
If the background check clears, the school board could begin contract negotiations. Typically, most superintendent contract are around three years, but they could offer a contract no longer than four years.
If either side backs out of the contract negotiations, they could select a new superintendent, run a background check and begin negotiations again.
If an agreement is reached by the end of May, the school district would approve the contract in June and announce the new superintendent once the contract is signed.
The school board members said they would like to have a new superintendent in place by July 1, 2023.
Redoing the search
If no agreement can be reached for a superintendent from the finalists, then the district could readvertise the position for free through MSBA and begin the process again. However, the start date would likely occur after the July 1 deadline. In that case, the board would have to consider its options for an interim superintendent.
