Supe search expected to take four months Supe search expected to take four months (March 11, 2005)

Trustees come up with wish list

By Julie O'Shea

Consultants laid the groundwork this week for Mountain View-Whisman School District's superintendent search. If all goes as planned, a new top administrator will be in place by the end of July or the beginning of August.

School trustees on Tuesday filled up six sheets of butcher paper, listing characteristics they'd want to see in their next superintendent. The board emphasized its desire to get someone into the position who will stay for at least three to five years. Jim Negri, who resigned in August for a job closer to home, had only been with the district for two years.

"I'm interested in getting a superintendent who wants to work for our district and not who just wants to be a superintendent," board President Ellen Wheeler said.

There was also an interest to see a candidate who would reflect the diversity of the city's public school system, which has a large Latino population. Trustee RoseMary Roquero commented that she would like to encourage minorities to apply for the job. And the other trustees agreed that it would be a benefit if the next superintendent was fluent in another language, preferably Spanish.

"This is your process. You have to own it. You have to believe in it," said Steve Goldstone, a consultant with The Cosca Group, the firm overseeing the district's superintendent search.

After Negri's surprise resignation last August, the school board gave Eleanor Yick a 10-month contract, which expires in June. Yick, who served previously as the district's associate superintendent, has a clause in her contract stating that she couldn't apply to extend her contract. However, the board can invite her to apply if it wishes. Yick, who agreed to the clause, has stated that she wouldn't apply if the board decides to conduct a nationwide search.

The search consultants, hired in January for $20,900, will be asking various community groups and leaders this month what qualities they would like to see in the elementary and middle school district's next superintendent. Consultants will then draw up a brochure, detailing for prospective candidates what Mountain View-Whisman is looking for in a leader.

The deadline for applications has tentatively been set for mid-June. And interviews will begin in early July. Consultants from the Cosca Group have suggested that the board conduct the interviews in closed session, the only part of the process not open to the public.

The Cosca Group has promised a vigorous candidate screening process and hopes to present the board with at least five candidates. Once the board selects a finalist, the search firm said it could no longer guarantee the anonymity of that candidate. The Cosca Group said they will assign two people to mentor the district's new superintendent. The mentors come free of charge.

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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