Westerville City Schools on aggressive timeline to find next superintendent. What to know
Westerville City School District is launching its search for its next superintendent — hoping to have a chief executive in place by next school year.
Westerville schools Board of Education earlier this year selected Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA), an executive search firm based near Chicago in Schaumburg, Illinois, to lead its upcoming superintendent search over two other firms.
HYA will focus on community participation and engagement in May and plans to recruit candidates in June. The board hopes to announce a new superintendent by Aug. 1, "working on an aggressive timeline," said district spokesperson Greg Viebranz.
The contract cost $36,870, but could increase to $40,000 if the district takes advantage of some optional services the firm offers, such as translation, Viebranz said.
Westerville Schools: district opening new Minerva Elementary building to students
Current superintendent, John Kellogg, leaving for another post
Westerville City schools, a district of more than 14,0000 students, is searching for its next leader because current Superintendent John Kellogg announced in March that he would leave at the end of June to begin a superintendent-in-residence position with the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio and Columbus State Community College.
Kellogg, 60, has led Westerville schools for the past decade, through an operating levy and bond issue in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Beginning in June, Deputy Superintendent Mark Hershiser will serve as interim superintendent. Hershiser postponed his retirement to assume the temporary role until a successor can be found, Viebranz said. He will also remain to assist in the transition process.
What will be done as part of the search?
HYA outlined a timeline that begins with an engagement phase, where community partners can inform the recruitment and selection phases of the process, Viebranz said. The information gathered through interviews, online surveys and focus groups will be used to develop a leadership profile that allows the community to "lend its voice to the process."
"The board is looking for significant community involvement, and the selection of superintendent is obviously one of the most important thing they do," Viebranz said.
Starting this week, the firm is hosting more than 30 in-person events, including focus group discussions with individuals and groups identified by board members, including district and building leaders, teachers, staff, students, parents, community partners and local government officials.
The district is also hoping an online survey will gain the largest public engagement, and has already been distributed to parents and district mailing lists.
After the community engagement phase, the search firm will be directly reaching out to prospective candidates and letting them know about the position, which is already listed online.
While Aug. 1 is the target date for the board to have a candidate announcement, HYA will remain for support in the transition after that date, Viebranz said.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Westerville schools on aggressive timeline to find next superintendent
