Cape school board seeks to hire superintendent by late January

Jim Welker announced his retirement as superintendent of the Cape Girardeau School District earlier this month, and the school board is wasting no time in seeking a replacement.

In a special work session of the board of education Monday night, Jerry Waddle, a Missouri School Boards' Association search consultant, laid out his role in the search for a new superintendent and the general timeline the search will follow.

The association was selected for the task earlier this month after a request for proposals from the district on the day of Welker's retirement announcement.

Four companies submitted proposals, and the association's was selected during the official board meeting last week.

The Missouri School Boards' Association will be paid 8 percent of the new superintendent's first-year salary for its services.

Waddle laid out a search process that tentatively shows the district having a new superintendent selected by the end of January.

It begins with a needs assessment. Waddle, through board discussions and surveys completed by the board, determined key characteristics the potential superintendent should have, challenges the new superintendent will face in his or her first year and the goals the board has for the district and its new superintendent.

This will be followed by focus groups and community surveys.

Waddle said he would meet with interested members of the community at a later date without the board present to talk about the process and tell them about an online survey they can complete so they may be invested in the process.

Waddle will meet with school-district staff as well and ask them to fill out their own surveys.

"We'll probably do those [focus groups] in the next couple of weeks, because we want to do them early in the process," Waddle said.

The gathered information will help guide the search.

Recruitment for the position tentatively will begin Dec. 5. The position will be announced on the association's website, the National School Boards Association's website and a few other organizations.

"You could say it's a national search," Waddle said, "But we probably won't get a lot of out-of-state candidates."

Candidate screenings by Waddle will follow.

"My job, as I see it," Waddle said, "is to point out the candidates that are the best fit for you."

The board, however, ultimately will have access to all applications and can choose to interview those it sees fit.

Waddle will set up the interviews and provide interview coaching to board members before the scheduled meetings.

He will not play any other role in the decision process.

At the special session Monday, the board was asked to make some decisions about the job search.

Rather than offering a salary range, the position posting will label the salary as commensurate with education and experience.

The board will request applicants have superintendent certification, and a doctoral degree will be preferred. Central-office experience will be required. Superintendent experience will be preferred.

The district likely will use a contract created by the Missouri School Boards' Association.

There was discussion about offering a one-year contract for the new hire, but Waddle warned, "If you give only one year, you're not going to get any applicants."

The board agreed to offer a two- to three-year contract after the applicant is chosen.

Recruits will be brought to the district for interviews in early January. The board may begin the application process before the deadline if it chooses. The number of applicants it will interview has not been determined.

If the board follows the timeline, it's possible it will have a superintendent hired by Jan. 30.

Waddle said the date is only tentative, and many factors could affect the process.

The tentative timeline Waddle laid out is as follows:

Dec. 5: Officially open the position and post it on the association's website.

Dec. 15: Complete all focus groups.

Dec. 23: Complete needs-assessment surveys.

Jan. 2: All applications are due.

Jan 9: Board meeting to screen candidates

Jan. 10-21: Conduct interviews.

Jan. 30: Hire superintendent.

The Missouri School Boards' Association is the same organization that oversaw the search when Welker was hired nine years ago.

Waddle said one of the main concerns the community had during the last search for a superintendent was to close the revolving door -- the district had a history of short-term superintendents.

Waddle saw Welker, with his nine years of service, as a success story.

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630