Rossford officially begins superintendent search
11/13/2012The search for a new Rossford schools superintendent has begun in earnest.
The Board of Education last week heard from a representative of the Ohio School Boards Association, the group the district is paying $6,900 to conduct the search, about what the process involves.
"The Board of Education believes conducting a professional search for Rossford's next permanent superintendent is important, and we look forward to finding someone who will be a great fit and a great leader for our students and school community," board president Dawn Burks said.
Kathy LaSota, the OSBA's director of school board services, told the panel that her organization already has received queries from educators interested in the job. She and the board agreed on a draft timeline that would have a newly hired superintendent begin his or her duties in the summer.
The timeline envisions the board approving the final draft of a recruiting brochure on Nov. 19 and the printing and mailing of it a week later. The community-focus group part of the hiring process will be scheduled for the week of Dec. 10, with school board members not be in attendance, and the closing date for applications will be Jan. 4.
Under the timeline, the school board's first round of interviews would be scheduled for the week of Jan. 21, reference-checking would be the week of Jan. 28, and a second round of interviews would be conducted the week of Feb.4. The board would then make its decision Feb. 11, with an official announcement.
The brochure also will contain information about the district, such as its average teacher salary ($68,888), number of employees (248), and total valuation ($336,245,710).
Under the heading of "Qualifications," the brochure will state that the district is "searching for a chief executive officer with a deep passion for children, a student-centered philosophy, proven leadership capabilities, excitement about the district's future, ideas for continued improvement, unquestionable honesty and integrity, and superior interpersonal and communication skills."
Ms. LaSota said the brochure would be sent to all of Ohio's 712 school districts and school board associations in every state.
"It will go out to 3,000 addresses via email or postage," she explained. "The OASB does about a third of the superintendent searches in the state each year, which works out to 25 to 30 per year on average."
The new superintendent will replace William McFarland, who has been interim superintendent since spring.
-- Carl Ryan