Shhh! Search for superintendent may take place entirely in secret

Consultants say closed searches yield better candidates; others say public input essential.

By ABBY SOUZA
asouza@mercedsun-star.com

Despite the involvement of the community, Williamson said the district received applications from many well-qualified candidates. She said the board didn't worry that the committee might deter people from applying. After Obermeyer resigned in 2001, the board promoted then-assistant superintendent Melinda Hennes without the help of a search firm.

Unlike its Atwater counterpart, the Merced City School District did not use a community committee when it hired Superintendent Terry Brace in fall 2005. Board member Gene Stamm said that was because of the time pressure put on the board to fill the position.

The district's superintendent at the time, Alan Rasmussen, resigned "all of a sudden," Stamm said, right before the 2005-06 school year. Advice from other superintendents in the area was to find a replacement fast, so a search firm was hired and aided the board in finding Brace. "We needed to get a superintendent in as soon as possible," Stamm remembered. "I didn't feel like we could wait five or six months to see it go through the whole process."

But if Stamm were to do it again, he said he would want the public's input during the superintendent selection process. "We got the right man," Stamm said. "But this isn't the corporate world. The community needs to be involved." When it comes time for the district to select its next leader, Stamm said, "I will certainly be in there pushing for that one element of the search."

Pushing for that element in the high school district's upcoming search will be Gloria Coulombe, president of the district's classified employees' union. "We have a vested interest," Coulombe said, as the new superintendent will ultimately be the union members' boss. "Absolutely, it must be open."

No matter how public the search for the Merced Union High School District's new superintendent ends up, it will be the board that makes the final hiring choice. "This is the most important decision a school board can make," O'Neill said. "We're going to take it seriously."

Reporter Abby Souza can be reached at 209 385-2407 orasouza@mercedsun-star.com.

Leader search

The Merced Union High School District Board will meet at 4:45 p.m. Thursday at the district office, 3430 A Street at the Castle Commerce Center, to discuss the search for a new superintendent.