Here’s when Fresno Unified school board plans to hire a new superintendent
The Fresno Unified school board plans to hire a new superintendent by the end of April and restart its search for a new leader in January.
The new timeline, which the school board will discuss at its Wednesday meeting, marks Fresno Unified trustees’ first update on their turbulent superintendent search since they appointed longtime administrator Misty Her to lead the district on an interim basis in May.
Hiring a full-time superintendent is part of the school board’s “Student Outcomes Focused Governance Timeline,” a broader timeline that outlines the board’s step-by-step plan toward achieving better student outcomes.
Under that proposed timeline, the board will decide on a specific plan for its superintendent search in mid-January.
In February and March, the board will hire a new search firm, post the job description for the position, and conduct the first and final rounds of interviews. The board will host a retreat with the new superintendent before the end of the school year.
The board developed its new timeline with the help of the Council of the Great City Schools, a coaching firm trustees hired for $100,000.
The proposed timeline means the district will be without a full-time leader for more than a year since the departure of former Superintendent Bob Nelson in July.
The school board’s search to find Nelson’s successor has been messy from the start.
Nelson announced his resignation plans in January and the board immediately started the search by spending $40,000 to hire a search firm, Leadership Associates, in February and held community listening sessions for public input.
The board was scheduled to hold internal interviews with district employees in early April, but canceled them at the last minute after dozens of members of the public criticized the board for lack of transparency and limiting its search to internal candidates.
The headhunter firm quit soon after, saying the hiring process was “compromised” because the board had not followed the procedures it agreed to use to interview internal candidates.
Before the end of the last school year, the board hired the Council of the Great City Schools to help the board resolve its infighting and focus on improving student outcomes, holding a retreat over the Labor Day weekend.
The coaching firm said the board needed to agree on a set of goals they want the next superintendent to accomplish before restarting the actual search.
Under the proposed timelines, the board is expected to gather more public input and decide on goals and guardrails before restarting its search in January.
