On February 23, 2023, the San Dieguito Union High School District held a Special Board Meeting. The only item on the agenda was to review and agree the process for hiring our next superintendent.
Our search consultants, ESS, presented their proposed process, which would consist of the following steps.
1. ESS to advertise and conduct proactive outreach to attract applicants.
2. ESS would conduct focus groups and a community-wide survey to help them create a superintendent job profile.
3. ESS would interview candidates, conduct background research, and provide their feedback to the board on each candidate.
4. The Board would decide which candidates to interview in-person.
5. The Board would interview these semi-finalists over a weekend and select the next superintendent.
Here is a link to the district's website that lists all the pertinant dates and information: https://www.sduhsd.net/.../Superintendent.../index.html...
Before the Board Meeting began, the Trustees were emailed a proposal from a community member suggesting that we form a Stakeholder Advisory Committee to interview the semi-finalists and provide the board their assessment of each candidate. I supported this proposal.
Our superintendent search process does not allow for individual board members to speak with or meet with the candidates one-on-one. All interviews are conducted with the five board members, behind closed doors, over one weekend. On Saturday we interview all the semi-finalists for the first time, and then invite one or more back for a second round on Sunday. The questions we ask are pre-scripted. Then we vote and select the superintendent, all in closed session. You can understand why it can be difficult to get to really know someone through this process.
Other school districts utilize a Citizen or Stakeholder Advisory Committee to help with candidate selection. They conduct confidential interviews of the semi-finalists in a more informal setting and provide feedback directly to the Board. Although the final decision rests with the Board, Trustees obtain the benefit of these additional interactions and opinions from members of our public, while also providing some assurance to our community that the semifinalists were all interviewed by citizens and stakeholders who bring their own experience and points of view to the process.
As Trustee Anderson commented during the meeting, we have a well-educated community to draw from, many of whom have substantial experience interviewing people for leadership roles, and as Trustees we “could use all the help we can get” making this important decision.
Ten members of our community took time from their families to speak before the board in support of this more inclusive process. Nonetheless, the Board, by a 3-2 consensus, decided not to create this committee.
The board majority, instead, suggested that we expand the number of focus groups to help the consultants craft the job description. We know the job description for a superintendent and, in fact, we went through this process just over a year ago. Nothing much has changed with the job description since then. What we need to know is which of the semi-finalists will be best for our District, and I believe stakeholders could add immeasurable value to that part of the process.
After the Citizens/Stakeholder Advisory Committee was decided against, the board then discussed the different constituencies who would be invited to limited attendance focus groups. I pointed out that picking and choosing from narrowly defined interest or affinity groups is, in fact, less inclusive than a broad-based stakeholder group. The consultants from ESS agreed with me that they couldn’t possibly have the time to attend all the focus groups for which different constituencies were suggested. ESS suggested that if people from groups who were already “impaneled” were invited, the board would be making a “safe” decision. I do not know how many focus group meetings ESS will conduct, but the vast majority of our parents will not be eligible to receive an invitation. The final decision on who will be invited to the focus groups and who will do the inviting is also not completely clear to me. In any case, these focus groups will simply help create the list of preferred characteristics and qualifications of a superintendent candidate. Trustee Anderson and I suggested we just eliminate the focus group step entirely due to its limited usefulness, but this idea did not carry the day.
Anyone from the public will have access to the online survey (available on the district's website) and ESS will compile all the comments in a document for the board. Members of the public may also attend two Town Halls.
Tuesday, March 7, 2023 - 6pm to 7pm - San Dieguito High School Academy (Spanish translation will be available)
Tuesday, March 14, 2023 - 6pm to 7pm - Pacific Trails Middle School (Mandarin translation will be available)
I am confident that our district will be able to attract many qualified applicants, and I am hopeful that the process will go smoothly from this point on.