LYNNWOOD — It’s been a dozen years since the Edmonds School District has hired a superintendent.
The district thought it was time to ask local residents what they think the most important qualities are for the person who will lead the county’s largest school district.
The survey is posted on the school district’s website. The public has until March 24 to participate. Nearly 400 people have completed the surveys, said school district spokeswoman Debbie Joyce Jakala.
The survey is divided into topics such as: what people say are the school district’s strengths and its challenges; professional qualifications, such as whether having previous experience as a classroom teacher or a doctoral degree are important; and whether qualities such as being a good listener and having an open, accessible leadership style are important.
Results of the survey will be used by Northwest Leadership Associates, a superintendent search firm, to guide the selection process for the new superintendent and the school board. The Liberty Lake, Washington, firm is being paid $22,800 plus reimbursement for travel expenses to assist with the selection of the new superintendent.
The school board also scheduled nine meetings to hear from the public on issues that are important in selecting the school district’s new top administrator, said Susan Phillips, school board president. Comments made during those meetings as well as the survey findings “will play an important role in the decision process,” Phillips said.
The new superintendent will replace Superintendent Nick Brossoit, who is retiring at the end of the school year. He was hired by the school district in the spring of 2004.
The school district will be accepting applications for the superintendent’s position through March 4. So far, 26 people have applied.
A group of up to nine applicants will be interviewed in person on March 19. The finalists will be interviewed March 31. The school board hopes to select a new superintendent by early-to-mid April, Phillips said.
The Edmonds School District, with an enrollment of 20,683 students, is the 11th largest school district in the state.
Brossoit announced in December that he would leave the district at the end of the school year, completing one of the longest-serving tenures in a school district in Snohomish County. His base salary this year is $243,266. Total compensation is $265,466 according to school district records.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
On the Net
A link to the Edmonds School District survey of the qualities people think are most important in hiring a superintendent may be found on the district’s website at www.edmonds.wednet.edu/
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