The Newark Unified School District Board of Education has scheduled a special meeting for Monday night to go over the details of hiring a new superintendent.
The school board is scheduled to meet with consulting firm Leadership Associates at a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. on March 6 to discuss everything from the timeline for the hiring process to the qualities, characteristics and experience the board is looking for in potential superintendents.
According to the proposed timeline, applicants could apply for the position until 5 p.m. March 17 and finalists would be interviewed in April. The board would be expected to approve the contract for a new superintendent, who would be expected to start July 1, at one of its regularly scheduled meetings — either May 4 or June 1.
Leadership Associates would advertise the position online on EdCal, a newspaper mailed to members of the Association of California School Administrators, through March 17, with the ad expected to be in print March 13.
Former Superintendent Mark Triplett was removed on a 3-2 vote earlier this year, with board members Phuong Nguyen and Bowen Zhang opposed, citing the fact that Triplett had not initiated the resignation. Michael Milliken, who previously served as principal of Graham Elementary School, was hired as an interim superintendent at a subsequent meeting.
Leadership Associates was unanimously selected to conduct the superintendent search after consultants Jacqueline Horejs and Eric Andrew impressed the board with their presentation late last month. Student Board Member Diego Torres said he particularly “liked how they prioritized the students’ input.”
Of the 650 searches the firm has conducted, Horejs said two-thirds were in California and 85% of the superintendents they placed were still in the role after three years.
“Whatever you and your community decide that you want to see in your superintendent, we find people who match that criteria,” Andrew said.
The agenda for the meeting can be found here. Meetings can be viewed in person at the district office, 5715 Musick Avenue, on the district’s YouTube channel and on Comcast Channel 26.
