February 19, 2019

Board Seeks Community Input 
on Superintendent Search

Community meetings on February 27 & 28; 
Online Survey Now Available
At its February 12, 2019 meeting, the San Marino Unified School District Board of Education heard a public presentation from its newly-hired executive search firm consultants, James Guerra of JG Consulting and Mike Escalante of Escalante & Associates.  The consultants explained the procedures involved in the search process and presented the Board with a tentative timeline for the superintendent search.  As part of the hour-long presentation, the consultants asked each Board member to identify important characteristics of the ideal candidate, as well as attributes of the SMUSD that would both attract and challenge the next superintendent.  

Mr. Guerra and Dr. Escalante announced that they would also be meeting with various stakeholder groups and will be holding community meetings to receive more input about the desired qualities and experience of the ideal superintendent.  They will meet with invited stakeholders, including students, parents, faculty, staff, administrators, PT(S)As, City of San Marino officials, and community groups, on both Wednesday, February 27, and Thursday, February 28.  

In addition to meeting with stakeholder groups, the consultants will hold two community meetings in order to give the San Marino community the opportunity to speak about expectations for the next superintendent.  The first community-wide meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the District Board Room.  The second community-wide meeting will be held on Thursday, February 28, at 9:30 a.m. also in the District Board Room.

Persons who are not available to attend the community meetings or do not wish to provide their input in a public setting are invited to provide their opinions in writing through an anonymous online survey available in both English and Chinese at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KC5HBV8.

Through information obtained during these meetings with the School Board, stakeholder groups, and the community, as well as the online survey, the consultants will develop a job profile of the ideal SMUSD superintendent.  The data gathered will also assist the consultants and the Board in developing interview questions and clarifying priorities and focus areas.

Mr. Guerra and Dr. Escalante are aiming to post the application and job profile nationwide on March 4, 2019.  Candidate applications will be due no later than April 4, and the Board will review the applications during Closed Session at a Special Board Meeting on April 16.  Selected applicants will be interviewed by the Board during Closed Session at a Special Board Meeting on April 27 and 28, and it is hoped that the successful superintendent will be announced by mid-May.

The Board encourages the San Marino community to participate in the superintendent search process.  Whether it is by attending the community-wide meetings, completing the online survey, contacting consultant James Guerra at  james@jgconsulting.us, or contacting the Board at  board@smusd.us, we want to hear from you with your thoughts about our next superintendent.

San Marino Unified School District Board of Education

Lisa Link
President
Chris Norgaard
Vice President
C. Joseph Chang
Clerk
Shelley Ryan
Member
Corey Barberie
Member