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Pipestone Area Schools (PAS) has hired the Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA) for $9,900 to assist in the search for a new superintendent.
School board members made that decision and accepted the resignation of Superintendent Kevin Enerson at their Feb. 27 meeting.
“Thanks for all your time here, Kevin,” said School Board Chair Brad Carson. “I’ve worked with you for four years on the board and I’ve appreciated it.”
Enerson was selected as the next superintendent of the ROCORI School District, which includes the communities of Rockville, Cold Spring and Richmond, last month. He will complete his time at PAS on June 30 and begin at ROCORI on July 1. Enerson said he would save the thank yous and goodbyes for June.
MSBA, which helped in the search that ultimately brought Enerson to ROCORI, will begin the search for his replacement at PAS this month. The school district also reached out to search firm School Exec Connect, which conducted the search that brought Enerson to PAS in 2016, but Carson said the firm was not able to take on any additional clients at this time.
School board members said MSBA has served the school district well in the past with other services. According to MSBA’s proposal, its superintendent search services include helping the school board craft a leadership profile, determine stakeholder involvement and interview candidates.
The process will begin with a planning meeting this month between the school board and the search team. At that meeting, a search team member will work with the school board to establish a search timeline, discuss hiring criteria and development of a leadership profile to determine what personal and professional skills and attributes are desired in a superintendent, determine methods of stakeholder involvement, identify the district’s position in the market place, select advertising venues, and finalize all processes and procedures for conducting a search.
The collection of stakeholder input could include an online survey open to staff, parents, students, community members and others; an information question and answer session for staff and community members; stakeholder input forums with finalists in conjunction with the second round of interviews; and focus groups.
MSBA’s search will be nationwide through the National Affiliation of Superintendent Searchers, according to the proposal. It will develop a brochure that will be made available to the school district in an electronic format so it can be posted online on the school district’s website, MSBA’s website, the Minnesota Association of School Administrators website, Minnesota EdPost and other sites. MSBA will also contact superintendents, assistant superintendents, service cooperative directors, charter school directors, principals, assistant principals and cabinet members throughout Minnesota to inform them of the vacancy.
MSBA will screen applicants using the established hiring criteria and leadership profile, conduct preliminary verification of references and vetting of applicants, present candidate recommendations to help the school board select finalists, help with the interview process, help develop a transition plan for the new superintendent and more.
Advertising for the position is expected to begin this month, interviews are expected to take place and a new superintendent is expected to be approved in May, and the new superintendent will begin July 1.
