Fresno Unified Superintendent headhunter withdraws from search. Says process ‘compromised’
Leadership Associates, Fresno Unified’s contracted superintendent consulting firm, announced it has withdrawn from the search, citing public outcry and political infighting that led the board to cancel already scheduled internal interviews on Wednesday night and to change the application process agreed upon at the beginning of the search.
“Despite initial clarity and transparency regarding the criteria and expectations for the superintendent selection process, Leadership Associates encountered discrepancies that compromised the integrity of the search,” said a news release from the firm.
Dennis Smith, search lead of the organization, said they were hired to look at internal candidates and to conduct a series of listening sessions with the public. If the board wanted to extend the search externally, the firm had a second contract it could activate. Instead of honoring the agreed-upon process, the board canceled the internal interviews at the last minute, and the firm felt the process was undermined, Smith said. Leadership Associates informed the board of the withdrawal on Wednesday.
“The team was prepared to facilitate those (internal) interviews, that was the initial part of the contract,” he told The Fresno Bee. “But they didn’t wait until the board fulfilled their obligations to us, or to the candidates… and the candidates were left sort of hanging out there.”
The district and the board have not been transparent about the process, members of the public have complained. The specifics of the contract(s) and amounts have been kept private and neither the board nor the firm told the public that they would be considering district employees first, which has become a political hot potato. The question of internal vs external candidates also was never asked during the listening sessions. The job description generated by the consultant also has been kept under wraps.
In an interview with The Bee last week, board President Susan Wittrup said the board had been misinformed by the consulting firm and that the job description was “leading to internal candidates.” She said some board members have overstated the call for the next superintendent to be someone with “strong ties to the community” in the public version of the firm’s report. She said she has received complaints that the firm didn’t capture the public’s wishes to consider external candidates after the board announced on March 20 that it would hold a special meeting to conduct closed-door internal interviews. Wittrup organized a press conference, along with some community leaders, to air her grievances with the process and Leadership Associates..
On April 3, the board voted 5-2 to suspend the planned interviews. After a closed-door discussion, the board said no decisions were made, and stressed that the board would evaluate the path forward based on the public’s feedback.
The Bee called Wittrup for comment on Friday. She said she was unavailable to talk but sent a statement.
“We need a search firm that does not have any bias about potential candidates for the next superintendent, and who can objectively bring the most qualified candidates forward. The future of our kids depends on it. Every decision must be made through the lens of what is most beneficial for students,” it read.
“Based on the overwhelming input from your community this past week, which leadership Associates failed to capture and report from the listening sessions, their process was compromised.”
Trustee Keshia Thomas said the firm was hired for three things, conducting listening sessions, writing a report, and assisting in internal interviews. Since the board canceled the proposed interviews, the firm’s contract is considered complete.
“We’ll probably be choosing someone else for the next stages,” she said.
Trustee Veva Islas said the firm fulfilled the contract, though she has some criticism of their work but she prefers not to share publicly.
“I think we do need to have support from capable consultants,” she said. “And yes, I think our intention was to move forward with looking for another team.”
