SIOUX CITY – The process of finding a new Sioux City school superintendent has officially begun.
The district school board held its first public meeting with the superintendent search firm GR Recruiting Tuesday night. The meeting was an opportunity for the board to plan the search process timelines, public meetings and other search details.
The search process is estimated to take four months.
The superintendent application will be available after an Oct. 20 board meeting. The board established a salary range of $240,000 to $260,000, not including benefits.
The tentative deadline for all application materials is Dec. 12 with an estimated selection on Jan. 18. It is unknown when a successor will be announced.
The superintendent search process will feature a variety of ways for community members to provide feedback on what characteristics they want in a new superintendent.
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School board president Dan Greenwell said the community input is important because it is a "major decision for the community."
"We have 15,000 students. We employ 2,500 people. This is a major event for our community," he said. "We want to make sure the public is engaged and participates in the process."
A survey to see what community members are seeking will be available on the district website, as well as sent to all parents and employees from Oct. 3-14. Some of the survey questions will focus on desired traits and characteristics for a new superintendent, while others about the district as a whole.
One question is a place for responders to propose potential candidates.
The survey will be available in six different languages -– English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Somali, Oromo, and Tigrinya -- to broaden community input. Hard copies of the survey also will available at all the schools.
Board member Perla Alarcon-Flory asked if there was a way to advertise the survey in different languages.
Dick Christie of GR Recruiting said the firm wants thousands of survey responses, not hundreds, so there is an accurate sense of what the community wants.
There will be three meetings for the public to provide input, and three meetings for staff to provide input.
The public and staff meetings will take place on:
- 4 p.m. for staff and 6 p.m. for the public on Oct. 11 at East High School;
- 4 p.m. for staff and 6 p.m. for the public on Oct. 13 at West High School and:
- 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Oct.15 at North High School.
Staff can attend the public meetings if they are not able to attend the staff-specific ones.
These meetings are an opportunity for parents, students, community members and staff to provide input on what they want in a superintendent and answer questions prepared by GR recruiting.
When the deadline has passed, the school board will be given access to all of the applications. GR Recruiting will highlight the top applicants that fit the desired qualifications and traits.
The finalist names will be announced publicly, but the entire candidate list will not be publicly released. Christie said that's to make sure candidates are comfortable applying if they have jobs currently.
The candidates will have individual meetings with administrators, teachers, support staff and students. Christie said this is an opportunity for the candidate to see if they mesh with the district. The district participants will provide feedback to the board on the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.
Before a decision is made, a public meeting will be held for the community to meet the potential candidates. It has not been determined when this meeting will take place.
Interim Superintendent Rod Earleywine resigned as the superintendent of the Sergeant Bluff-Luton Community School District in February, after 27 years with the district.
Earleywine, who started his new job on July 1, was selected as interim superintendent in April after former superintendent Paul Gausman was selected as the new superintendent of the Lincoln Public Schools.