Fresno Unified took major steps in its slow-moving national search for a superintendent at the Wednesday night School Board meeting.

The board unanimously approved a third-party search firm, exclusionary criteria, and search screens for the superintendent search, and a position description.

The district’s goal is to introduce Bob Nelson’s permanent successor by the end of May. Nelson retired last summer and Misty Her has led the district since then as the interim superintendent. She is a candidate for the permanent post and is expected to compete against at least 20 other qualified candidates.

The superintendent search subcommittee, consisting of Trustee Susan Wittrup, Board President Valarie Davis, and Board Clerk Veva Islas, drafted and recommended the three agenda items.

Board member Andy Levine motioned for amendments of the exclusionary criteria and search screens. Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas seconded the motion.

Creating a Wider Pool of Candidates

The slight changes made the criteria more open ended, allowing for a wider pool of applicants.

For example, the criteria originally stated, “candidate must have previous experience as a Superintendent or Deputy Superintendent.” Levine motioned to adjust this to “district level leadership experience.”

Ben Johnson, spokesperson for the selected third-party search firm, McPherson & Jacobson L.L.C., praised the superintendent exclusionary criteria.

“One of the things that stood out for me is that the person has to have cabinet level superintendent, deputy superintendent experience. You can’t have someone that’s a newbie start off in a district of this size,” Johnson told the Board.

Levine acknowledged Johnson’s comments when presenting amendments.

“I think that’s important: to make sure that, just for our size, someone should have some sort of experience in that area, whether it’s our district or an outside district,” Levine told GV Wire.

Levine wanted to ensure the Board wasn’t limiting strong candidates from applying.

“My thought process in terms of making it a little more general… I wouldn’t want us to miss out on an otherwise really strong candidate just because they maybe didn’t happen to have those specific roles in their experience,” he said.

Third-Party Search Group Approved

The Board approved a $34,500 contract with McPherson & Jacobson L.L.C.

The district and School Board will sign an official contract within the next few days, according to Fresno Unified CFO Patrick Jensen.

School Board members, current and former superintendents, university professors, and other education professionals comprise the search firm.

The firm’s role is to recruit and screen applicants. It has conducted over 1,000 superintendent searches across the country.

Johnson placed a large emphasis on transparency when presenting to the Board. This was something many community members and some trustees said the previously halted superintendent search lacked.

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The search firm stated that obtaining the best candidate was their number one priority, even if it requires more time.