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Superintendent Search report presented during Board of Education Meeting

Superintendent search presentation.
Superintendent Search report presented during Board of Education Meeting

The firm in charge of searching for the next superintendent of the Mount Vernon City School District will be looking for specific traits based on community forums, community surveys, focus groups and individual interviews. According to Edward McCormick and Dr. Karen Geelan from Hazard Young Attea Associates (HYA), those characteristics include:

  • Effectively plan and manage the long-term financial health of the District
  • Foster a positive, professional climate of mutual trust and respect among faculty, staff and administrators
  • Recruit, employ, and retain effective personnel throughout the District and its schools

Mr. McCormick and Dr. Geelan presented an executive summary report about the superintendent’s search to the Board of Education on Thursday, February 27, 2025, sharing the strengths and challenges of the District before presenting the survey results. They highlighted dedicated staff and diverse community as areas of strength of the district.

A total of 810 people participated in the survey, answering the questions:

  • “What do stakeholders value regarding the schools? What strengths do they desire to retain and build upon?” 
  • “What are the issues this District currently faces, and will face in the next three to five years?” and 
  • “What personal and professional characteristics are expected in a new Superintendent?”

The findings show that the community is looking for an experienced effective leader who is passionate and committed to student achievement, Dr. Geelan said. Other desired qualities include being innovative, creative, courageous, decisive, confident, collaborative and politically savvy. 

Superintendent search presentation.

 Mr. McCormick discussed HYA’s superintendent’s search process; which includes three to four weeks of engaging with the community to understand their desires, six to eight weeks of recruiting candidates and three to four weeks to select a suitable candidate.

The Board will conduct initial interviews and final interviews after HYA searches for candidates and vet them by conducting preliminary interviews and background checks. 

Click here to view the presentation from the Board of Education Meeting. 

Visit our Superintendent Search page to find information and reports regarding a timeline for the search and desired leadership characteristics.
 

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