Agency hired to conduct Elk Rapids superintendent search

William Perkins, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
Updated ·3 min read

Apr. 22—ELK RAPIDS — Elk Rapids Schools could have a new superintendent in place by July 1, although the contractor recently hired to help conduct the search says that timeline may be overly optimistic.

The Elk Rapids Board of Education this week agreed to hire Peter Haines, from search agency Michigan Leadership Institute, to aid in the hiring process to replace former Superintendent Julie Brown. Brown, who was hired in 2020, resigned during a school board meeting last month.

"Michigan Leadership Institute is not a large organization," Haines said. "It's a handful of consultants, all retired superintendents, who do this work on behalf of current boards, so I was thankful that they have that confidence in our group."

The agency is owned and operated by the Genesee Intermediate School District, according to its website.

Haines joined the institute after January 2021, having previously served as superintendent of Ottawa Area Intermediate School District, in Holland, for about six years, and of Greenville Public Schools for eight years prior to that, he said.

According to material presented to the Elk Rapids school board April 10, the organization recently conducted similar searches for Public Schools of Petoskey and Kalkaska Public Schools.

A representative from the Michigan Association of School Boards presented a competing pitch for that organization's services, according to meeting minutes.

When the board reconvened a week later, Monday, most members said they felt both options were equally appealing. Trustee Darryl Antcliff made the motion to hire the Michigan Leadership Institute, saying he'd been impressed by Haines.

"I liked his energy," he said at the meeting.

The hiring process is expected to take between 12 and 15 weeks. Parents, students and staff will have the opportunity to meet the top candidates via focus groups partway through the process, Haines said.

His services are estimated to cost a baseline of $6,200, according to material presented to the board.

Although the board is aiming for the new superintendent to be in place by the start of July, Haines said "there's a pretty good chance" they won't be ready by that time.

In that case, the agency would aim for an Aug. 1 deadline, he said.

The board is expected to meet again with Haines at an as-yet-undetermined date to go over further details.

Aside from the timeline, potential challenges in the search include the area's housing shortage, as well as the recent climate in education, he said.

"The pressure on school superintendents in the last couple of years has been pretty intense," he said. "Turnover is high. So, given that level of stress, I would tell you applicants are more cautious than they have been historically — and rightfully so."

Report for America corps member and data journalist William T. Perkins' reporting is made possible by a partnership between the Record-Eagle and Report for America, a journalism service project founded by the nonprofit Ground Truth Project. Generous community support helps fund a local share of the Record-Eagle/RFA partnership. To support RFA reporters in Traverse City, go to www.record-eagle.com/rfa.