SEQUIM — The search for a new schools superintendent has officially begun, with the School Board hiring a private search firm to oversee the process.
McPherson & Jacobson LLC — based out of Omaha, Neb. — will be paid $9,000 for its services by the district.
And while the money was not included in the budget for the current fiscal year, the school district has enough surplus funding to cover the charge, said Brian Lewis, Sequim School District business manager.
The district is in need of a new superintendent to succeed Patrick Kelly Shea, who is leaving June 30 to become superintendent of the East Valley School District in Spokane Valley.
Shea has been Sequim superintendent since March 23, 2012, and was also hired after being vetted by McPherson & Jacobson.
Applications for the job will be collected beginning today with a deadline of April 16.
Application forms will be available on www.macnjake.com.
For more information, email r_parker@macnjake.com or visit the website.
The new superintendent is scheduled to be hired in mid-May and will assume the post July 1.
And although there is less time to hire a superintendent due to the rapid approach of the end of the school year, there will be plenty of qualified candidates to choose from, said Rich Parker, McPherson & Jacobson executive search consultant.
“Sequim is more attractive than some of our other districts in the state, so it is likely you will get more people,” Parker said.
“There is a big enough pool out there. What we have to do is think about the timeline.
“We usually allow four to six weeks to allow people to apply. We will probably shorten that a little bit. We can probably get enough applicants in three to four weeks.”
Vetting will then take two to three weeks to complete.
“The very first thing I do is do a Google search [about each candidate],” Parker said.
“Then I give a screening call with the applicant, and if it is still good — if I have a good feeling about the candidate — then I go and call references.
“As we narrow it down and get closer to what I call the ‘short list,’ which is five to seven that I will bring you, those people have been vetted a lot deeper.”
The search firm is looking for an individual who is experienced in both running a school district and with bond issues.
The School Board is considering again seeking a bond issue following the February defeat of a bond to finance a new elementary school and more classrooms in Sequim.
The school district’s proposed $49.5 million, 20-year bond received 6,691 yes votes to 5,026 no votes — a 57.11 percent to 42.89 percent margin. A 60 percent supermajority was required.
With its sights set on a new bond try, the School Board should prioritize “seasoned assistant superintendents who have been in the seat four to five years, or superintendents of a district of 700 or 800 students,” Parker said.
He added that it should not hire an interim superintendent unless there is no other recourse.
“An interim comes in to just make sure the district is compliant — just to manage your district, manage your funds,” he said.
“An interim is not going to run a bond. It stalls all of the momentum you have in the district.”
But if the district is forced to hire an interim because no candidates are acceptable to the board, McPherson & Jacobson will redo the process of hiring a new superintendent during the next school year free of charge, Parker said.
“If you don’t like the candidates at the end, and there is no one you guys can settle on, then we will find an interim for you, and we will do the search again next year for no additional fee,” Parker said. “You have that option.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
