Tecumseh school board sets wish list of qualities it wants in next superintendent

TECUMSEH — School board members in Tecumseh have worked out a profile of the ideal candidate to be the district's next superintendent.

The list of more than 20 criteria will be added to the job posting to let prospective candidates know what the board has in mind as it looks to replace retiring Superintendent Rick Hilderley. The list of criteria can be viewed online at tinyurl.com/TPSSuptCriteria.

Rodney Green, the board's search consultant from the Michigan Association of School Boards, worked through the profile with the board during a special meeting Wednesday at Tecumseh High School. He told them he took feedback given during in-person and online listening sessions with community residents; meetings with faculty, staff and students; and an online survey and created a draft profile.

Some of the desired qualities, such as being honest and ethical, are common traits that school boards and communities want in their superintendent, Green said. The meeting Wednesday was an opportunity for the Tecumseh board to further customize the profile by adding items or wording to fit what they're looking for.

Board President Tony Rebottaro asked if the profile they developed was different from what other school boards have had.

"This is customized to you," Green said. "There are things in here that are not on other profiles. They're similar. There's always communication, there's always improving achievement for all students, that type of thing. But some of these are definitely for your district."

He said some prospective applicants have asked him about Tecumseh's candidate profile.

Qualities that board members added to the profile included having experience with growing student enrollment, with passing millages for bond proposals or a sinking fund, with addressing professional development of employees who are not meeting expectations, having strong communication with the board, and being an enthusiastic and strong communicator. They also want someone with demonstrated performance in implementing career-technical education (CTE); science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) curriculum; and work-based learning. The board at first added STEM, but in the public comment period resident Lee Andre pointed out that they hadn't discussed the arts and suggested changing STEM to STEAM, and the board agreed.

Board members Lynne Davis and Mary Tommelein said superintendent candidates should have experience with CTE or work-based learning due to the various initiatives that have come from the state in recent years.

"Not every person is going to have every single one of these," Green said. The profile is a list of what is important to the board, then it can craft its interview questions from that list.

Green reviewed the feedback from the listening sessions and the survey results with the board. He said the listening sessions were attended by 17 students, seven teachers, 16 administrators, six support staff and 16 community members. He said 194 people took the survey, though not every person answered every question.

Tommelein asked Green if he was comfortable with the number of people who participated, saying it seemed low.

"I've done 53 other districts, and, yeah, I think this is a good turnout," Green said.

Parents of current students made up the bulk of the survey respondents, according to data Green shared Wednesday. Most of the others were district residents without children in the schools; district employees; members of a community organization in the area; a grandparent, guardian or other interested adult; or students.

When asked what path or strategy the board should take in choosing the next superintendent, 61% said to find a candidate with the same basic educational and management philosophy as the current administration but who can make some necessary changes. That was followed by 29% saying to find a very different kind of candidate who is ready to take the district in a significantly different direction and 9% who said to find a candidate who will stay the course.

That question was followed by an opportunity to provide more detail about why the respondents think the board should stay the course and what changes could be made.

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Administrative experience was important to survey respondents, with 55% saying the next superintendent should at least have experience as a building principal and 50% saying they should have been a superintendent in another district. The ideal candidate should have teaching experience, said 53% of respondents.

When asked about specific experiences and skills the next superintendent should have, the skills that were listed as critically important by more than half of the respondents were "exceedingly responsive," "strong knowledge and experience with school financial matters," "maintain visibility and accessibility to staff," and "recognizes, values and affirms staff members."

Another question listed several personal characteristics to be rated by importance. Some of the top-rated characteristics were being honest and ethical, transparent, a problem solver, approachable and a strong communicator. The characteristics that were rated least important, though none were rated as unimportant, were being a risk taker, being sensitive and having a sense of humor.

Green also reviewed with the board the draft contract that will be offered to the board's preferred candidate. The contract is based on Hilderley's current contract.

Hilderley's last day in the office is expected to be June 7. He will then use up his remaining vacation time until his contract ends June 30. Rebottaro said Wednesday the board would like the new superintendent to start June 1. Green said that is something they can work out with whoever the board hires.

The district is accepting applications until March 5. Interviews are expected to take place March 16 and March 19.

— Contact reporter David Panian at dpanian@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Tecumseh schools superintendent candidate profile set