Board members reviewed the hiring-procedure draft for district-administrator and principal positions and discussed committee composition, community involvement, and the value of site visits to finalists' current districts.
Why it matters: Hiring a district administrator (superintendent) is a high-impact decision that boards often supplement with community engagement and site visits for finalists. Members discussed how to balance thorough vetting with confidentiality and recruitment timelines.
Discussion: The draft allows board flexibility and suggests including district leadership team members and at least one board member on interview committees; it also contemplates participation by a parent who is not a district employee for principal hires. Members recalled past experiences: earlier searches included large committees, community forums, and external consultants; some districts included parent or teacher representatives but had confidentiality issues when deliberations leaked.
Several members strongly favored requiring, where feasible, site visits for board representatives to finalists' current districts or schools. They argued site visits let board members observe workplaces and staff interactions and can be decisive for finalists. Other members noted that international or distant candidates might make on-site visits infeasible and the policy should allow flexibility. The board left the draft open-ended to work with consultants on process specifics and directed staff to retain an option for site visits and community engagement while preserving confidentiality protections in committee roles.
No formal change was adopted at this meeting; staff were asked to keep policy flexible for consultant-driven searches and to ensure the draft clearly permits board-led site visits when feasible.