The search for a new superintendent for the Edmonds School District (ESD) has begun.
The ESD is hosting several public input sessions in order to collect feedback on the qualities and experience that the community wants in a new superintendent. These will take place on Feb. 9, 10 and 18 at different times and locations, according to the ESD School Board.
“It’s really important that we get as much information and as many opinions as we can from the community, staff and students. We are looking to find what qualities they would like to have in a new superintendent, what they see that’s going well in district [and] where could we see improvements,” School Board President Susan Phillips said.
According to Phillips, the Feb. 9 input sessions will be at 3:15 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at the College Place Middle School (CPM) commons. In addition, there will be an input session for principals at 10 a.m. at the Educational Service Center (ESC).
The Feb. 10 input sessions will take place 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. at the ESC, as well as 3:15 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at the Meadowdale Middle School (MMS) commons.
There will be one input session on Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the CPMS commons.
Phillips said that the school board set up the input sessions at various times and locations in hopes to get a “broad sampling of the community demographic.”
There is also an online survey to collect further input, which will be available through March 24. This survey is available in both English and Spanish.
“The school board made the decision [to make the survey available in both English and Spanish] with consultants and the communications department. Ideally, it would be great to have the survey available in more languages, but Spanish is the second most common language spoken in the district so we went with that one,” Phillips said.
All of the information will be compiled, presented to board and used to make decisions regarding what to look for in the new superintendent.
“I would encourage students to give their input. We want to hear from everybody. This is a very important decision,” Phillips said.
The School Board hired Northwest Leadership Associates to assist them in with the recruiting, interviewing and hiring process.
Candidate applications for the position are due Mar. 4th, and finalist selection will be completed by the end of March, according to the School Board. Finalists will visit and tour the district, meet students and staff and be interviewed by the school board.
Phillips said that she is looking for a new superintendent who “can continue the good work being done in the district and move that forward.”
Public community forums will take place March 29-31, where finalists will give presentations and answer questions. Attendees will be able to give their input to the school board. Following this schedule, the new superintendent will be chosen by early April and will take over beginning July 1.
“Hopefully the new superintendent can spend some time in the district before July 1 so they can get to know the district before July 1 when they start officially. Dr. [Nick] Brossoit’s official end date is June 31, but we believe he’s committed to a smooth transition, so if we asked him to stick around he would,” Phillips said.
