The West Liberty School Board of Education is offering district residents an opportunity to be part of the process in selecting a new superintendent of schools, it was learned Monday evening at a special work session when education leader search representatives worked with the board to set a plan to replace Dr. Diego Giraldo by the end of the school year.
Grundmeyer Leader Services consultants Roger Wilcox and Kevin Fiene worked out a tentative time line to hire a new candidate and said there was already interest by several candidates who learned of the position through hearsay.
The whole process begins with what is called a “stakeholder survey,” sent out this week by school officials virtually to get feedback from district residents on professional and personal characteristics and other suggestions desired of the new school leader for the position to “ensure the new hire is a good fit for both the school district and community.” In their 2018 stakeholder survey, 217 district residents responded.
Anyone wishing to take the survey may do so by contacting the school district or going to the school district web site. The stakeholder period ends Dec. 18 before information is shared with the board.
The Des Moines company then advertises the position nationwide with a number of educational job web sites, taking applications through Jan. 24 before the school board reviews the candidate pool on Feb. 1 and begins the interview process on Feb. 8 with a projected six to eight semi-finalists. Formal interviews with finalists will be held Feb. 22.
Wilcox, who was involved with the search two years ago for Giraldo, said he wants to make sure both sides are a “good fit,” noting not only the district needs to be satisfied with their final selection, but the candidate needs to feel right about taking the job as well. He said the company has had 86 successful administrative recruitments and 97 percent of the selections have stayed with districts for four years or longer.
“It’s unfortunate we’re back,” he said, noting the company works for the school board who tells them how they want to proceed in the process.
He said there already is a list of over 1,000 candidates looking for administrative jobs and said they would not only utilize their own popular website, but advertise in places like TeachIowa as well. He said the company already has two to four candidates “champing at the bit” to apply for the position and said it is good to get the word out early, hampered last time by the fact the district only had two months to replace Joe Potts.
Dr. Giraldo gave notice in mid-November he would be leaving the district, noting although he finds it an excellent district and community to work, he has some personal family problems of concern and wanted to give the district plenty of time to find a solid replacement.
The company will help select six to eight finalists who will be interviewed via Zoom for approximately 30 minutes each, giving time in between for board members, administrators and other community team members to make notes and evaluate. The consultants wanted the board to begin putting together questions for those candidates, looking at the strengths and challenges of the district to get insight in what the community wants from their next superintendent.
The consultants guide the district through the entire process, including interviews, noting the firm will steer the board to be as “objective as possible,” helping evaluate strengths and weaknesses. Wilcox did say the district is responsible for doing background checks, bargaining for benefits and taking care of contract negotiations, recommending at least a two-year contract.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the process should contact the district administrative office.