One of the most important duties that a school board performs is the hiring of a superintendent of schools. Now that the newly elected members of the SMUSD Board of Education have taken their oaths of office and the new school year has commenced, the Board is ready to begin the lengthy process of finding the most qualified superintendent to allow Interim Superintendent Loren Kleinrock to return to retirement.
The first step of this critical process is the selection of a search firm that will assist the Board and our San Marino community in determining the qualities and qualifications of the ideal superintendent candidate and in recruiting and vetting these candidates.
In response to a request for proposals, five highly regarded and experienced search firms appeared before the Board during a special Open Session meeting on Tuesday, January 15. Board members allotted an hour per search firm to hear presentations and ask questions of consultants from JG Consulting/Escalante & Associates, The Cosca Group, McPherson & Jacobson, Hazard Young Attea & Associates, and Leadership Associates. Each search firm agreed to include and engage the San Marino community in the process of selecting the best possible superintendent.
The Board will consider which search firm is best suited to achieve our goals in the hiring of a superintendent and will announce the successful firm during our regular Board meeting on January 22, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. if a decision is made.
The Board looks forward to keeping the San Marino community informed of opportunities to provide input and the Board's progress through periodic updates such as this, as well as through the District's webpage dedicated to the superintendent search at http://www.smusd.us/superintendent/.
We are confident that our supportive and engaged community, our outstanding teachers, staff and administrators, and our talented and successful students will attract top-notch candidates. We appreciate your participation and support during the superintendent search process.
Lisa Link President, SMUSD Board of Education
P.S. For other important School Board business to be discussed at Tuesday's meeting, please click here to view the agenda.
