The Hastings School Board is hopeful to be ratifying a contract with its next superintendent on May 31.
The school board worked Monday, March 27 with representatives of the Minnesota School Boards …
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The Hastings School Board is hopeful to be ratifying a contract with its next superintendent on May 31.
The school board worked Monday, March 27 with representatives of the Minnesota School Boards Association, which is leading a search to fill the district’s top job.
Current Superintendent Dr. Bob McDowell announced early last month that he was resigning from the position after three years leading the Hastings School District to pursue other opportunities.
The school board selected MSBA to oversee the search process. Barb Dorn, MSBA Director of Leadership Development and Executive Search, told the board that every step of the hiring process occurs at open meetings.
“The Open Meeting Law will be central to every point of this,” she said.
She added, however, the Minnesota Data Practices Act guards much of the personal information on applicants from being public.
“You as board members will see all information on everyone who has applied,” she said. “When we reach the point where we are presenting candidates to you, those names remain private, and they only become public when you select them for an interview.”
Information on applicants will be available to the public but will be heavily redacted, Dorn said.
“There are some things that will always be private data,” she said. “We’ll provide redacted resumes.”
Dorn led the board through setting up dates and gathering information to share with prospective candidates with the goal of getting a new superintendent on board. If the board isn’t satisfied with the pool of candidates, an interim superintendent would need to be hired.
“We’ll help you find an interim if this is unsuccessful this year. That’d keep the wheels on the bus,” Dorn said.
To kick the process off, an anonymous public survey appears on the Hastings School District website for district residents to share their opinions on what they’d like to see in the next superintendent. The survey asks a variety of questions, from expertise and skills the next superintendent should possess to what personal characteristics the person should possess and whether it’s important if the top candidate has prior superintendent experience. Survey results will be tabulated April 10.
Applicants could start submitting their information for the position March 29, and they can apply until April 24.
A series of special meetings have been set to guide the board through the hiring process. On April 24 at 6 p.m., MSBA will hold interview training and share a report from the survey. Interview questions and procedures will be set, as will the parameters of the superintendent contract.
On May 10, the board will meet to determine finalists, interview questions and procedures. The first round of finalist interviews will be May 16, with the second round on May 23. The process will culminate with a special meeting May 31 to approve a contract with a new superintendent.
