Schools

Finalist Superintendent Search Firms Make Their Case to Chap School Board

Board could select firm by Sept. 21 meeting, Benton says.

Two search firms did public interviews with the Chappaqua Central School District Board of Education for the chance to be hired to look for a new distict superintendent.

In a Tuesday-night meeting that included an intimate table, fruit salad, cookies and single-digit turnout from residents, board members listened to pitches from Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates and J.A. Roy & Associates.

The board, which normally holds such meetings privately, chose to have an open meeting because of community interest in the process, Janet Benton, the board president, noted. Janet Benton also said the board hopes to comment on the selection at its Sept. 21 meeting. Below is an outline of the case that each firm made:

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Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates

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The first company was represented by Bruce Dennis - a former Bedford school superintendent from 1992 to 2004 - and Deborah Raizes, whose background includes being a Board of Trustees member at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, and a Scarsdale school board member in the 1990s. Interim Superintendent John Chambers has also worked for Hazard and done searches on the firm's behalf.

The officials' emphasized several factors that it says are in its favor, including the firm's large size (such as more than 100 associates nationally), professional background of associates (Dennis said many are former superintendents from high-performing districts) and being across the country.

The officials talked about the changing dynamics of the superintendent search. The job market for superintendents has dramatically decreased since the 1990s, Dennis and that being one is perceived, instead, as "a terminal job" at the end of people's careers. When he first applied for run the Bedford school district nearly two decades ago, Dennis said that there were more than 200 applicants. Now, even a search even for a district of Chappaqua's reputation mean being lucky to get 40-45 applicants, he said.

Confidentiality was another theme that was raised. With the smaller number of applicants, Raizes said that candidates don't want to put themselves out there and end up having problems with their current jobs if they're not selected. She said that their company is careful to protect people.

With regards to the process of getting to know the district, Dennis said they're not much different from School Leadership, the firm that first handled the process and withdrew from further consideration due to scheduling issues. Typically, Dennis said, they spend a couple of days in the district with groups such as parents, faculty and union officials. Dennis said they feel it's important "to spend at least some time in the district." He also said that they would meet with school board members individually.

The district profile report previously done by Charles Fowler of School Leadership was also mentioned. Benton asked the Hazard officials if there is a process where the information is "more fine tuned," to which they spoke about how school districts each have nuances, which Raizes described as being behind generic criteria.

Networking and personal contact with candidates were repeatedly emphasized by Raizes and Dennis. With networking, Dennis pointed out his connections with  superintendents from belonging to a group of them who operate suburban school districts.

"I still believe in the face to face," Raizes noted at one point in the meeting.

The officials gave a proposed timeline for their search: coming into the district by the end of the month, recruiting from October to December, come up with a slate of candidates by mid January, final interviews in early February and a selection by March 1. Dennis touted this timeline, explaining that it helps get good candidates early.

Board Member Alyson Kiesel asked the officials if there was anything that may deter candidates from working in Chappaqua. Dennis responded that not everyone "relishes" the visibility and accountability of being in the district.

The idea of someone moving from a lower-cost state to Westchester, with its higher cost of living, was discussed. Dennis explained that it wouldn't be a problem for people coming from areas with similar costs, like the San Francisco or Chicago areas. However, for people coming from lower-cost areas, Dennis said "that's obviously going to be an issue."

The officials also talked about the challenges of getting candidates who are comfortable in their current jobs. Raizes explained, however, school boards in districts can change, and then "things get uncomfortable." Dennis also noted that candidates want to know what the boards are like in when contacted about positions elsewhere.

The topic of internal candidates was also brought up. It is a theme that has been raised throughout the search. The board, last spring, initially wanted to look at internal candidates first, before changing its position due to public opposition. Instead, internal candidates will go through the same process as external ones, Benton explained in an email. She also said that one person within the district had expressed interest in the position. Dennis said that they would interview any internal candidate who applied as a courtesy, and expressed a defferential position to school boards in how they want such processes to be handled.

Board Member Randall Katchis asked the officials how they differentiate themselves, to which Dennis responded by saying their associates maintain their professional networks.

Additionally, the topic of public involvement in the process came up. Dennis explained, in responding to wishs of candidates who don't want to be trotted out, to be careful about public involvement. In terms of pub input, he suggested having advisory agreements with groups like parents.

Michael Kaufman, a district resident, asked the officials what other searches they are doing now, and what amount of time they forsee themselves spending on the project. Dennis said that this would be the only search he would do, while Raizes said that she prefers to take on two or three at a time.

 

J.A. Roy & Associates

The second firm was a blast from the past, having been the one that selected David Fleishman more than five years ago, the last time that the district did a search. Fleishman's announcement of departure in February - he left in June - led to the current search. Jacqueline Roy, who runs the firm, noted her connection with Fleishman, having both known his father and Matthew King, who ran the school system in Wellesley, MA and whom Fleishman worked with as an assistant superintendent there before coming to Chappaqua.

Roy's operation is a small one, and she said that she does much of the work herself.

"I do everything from soup to nuts," she said. At one point in the meeting, she siad that she handles no more than two to three searches at once.

As the officials from Hazard noted, Roy said that there is a smaller number of superintendent candidates out there, attributing it to a combination of baby boomers retiring and there not being a lot of young educators interesting in being superintendents. From her experience starting 26 years ago, Roy said that back then it wasn't uncommon to have 80 to 100 candidates for a position, while the number has dwindled to about a couple dozen, and that is even after "shaking the bushes" for candidates.

With regards to her thoughts on Fowler's work for School Leaderhship, Roy said that his findings about the state of the district were similar to what she found in her previous earch five years ago, but also said that she would spend time learning what has changed since then.

Roy also noted that she has an "enormous mailing list of professional colleagues," to use in finding candidates, and also said that she networks with colleagues to find people. She explained that she would get responses in the process from people who are interested. In addition, Roy said that she does a lot of advertising for positions, naming trade journals and The New York Times as past examples, while also reaching out to state superintendents' associations.

The process that Roy does takes about five to six months, she said. Noting her last search for the district, she explained first that she looks broadly, then the people are narrowed down. Roy also explained what she asks for from candidates, including letters of reference, a strong cover letter and a writing sample.

Benton, in response, asked Roy how extensively she interviews people before they come to the board. Roy responded that she does it on the phone and checks their references. In response to a question from Katchis about how she does background checks on candidates without alerting their current districts, Roy said that she tries to "triangulate" around them, and looks for people like past employers and past board members.

At another point in the interview, Board Member Gregg Bresner asked Roy about face to face interaction with candidates, to which she responded that it's important if she doesn't know them at all, or if the board asks her to interview them in person. However, in cases where she knows about candidates and people who have recommended them, and after she has talked with them she feels confident.

The subject of internal candidates was also brought up. Roy said that she doesn't treated internal candidates any differently than external ones, and talked about past searches she did that involved them.

The attractiveness of the district for prospective candidates also came up. Kiesel asked Roy about positives and negatives in the district. She responded that it is a solid school system and has been well-led for many years, and that there aren't any major issues. She also noted that when she interviewed David Fleishman follow up after he was selected as superintendent, she said that he explained that he couldn't have asked for a better place.

Benton asked Roy about community involvement. She responded that candidates feel more comfortable with confidentiality. However, she felt that the community can be aprised without divulging important information. Instead of big, open meetings on the matter, she said that small groups of community members could be involved.

 

Reaction Afterwards

After Roy left, the board chatted with the small group of residents who had attended.

Kaufman expressed interest in Hazard, and said that the people who interviewed seemed to have more gravitas. Betty Weitz, another resident, wondered if they're aware of more candidates, since they do more searches.

Leslie Kuhn, president of the Chappaqua Central PTA, said in an interview, that they thought they were both impressive.

For resident Seth Lesser, it is a matter of who the board wants to work with.

"From here on in it's your gut instinct," he told them.


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