FAYETTEVILLE — The Fayetteville School Board will seek input from residents on the characteristics they want to see in the next superintendent.
The board plans to meet in the next few weeks to finalize plans for filling the superintendency in the wake of the resignation of Vicki Thomas. Thomas resigned, effective June 30, so she and her husband can return to Texas to take care of family matters.
Thomas was hired in 2009 after the retirement of Bobby New. At that time, the board developed an extensive format for the national search, including a profile for the new superintendent, characteristics, sample questions and other data, all with the assistance of a large committee of residents, including teachers, administrators, students and parents as well as business leaders with and without ties to the district.
Board member Susan Heil, who was board president at the time, outlined the process during the School Board meeting Thursday.
Only four board members — Heil, President Tim Hudson, Steve Percival and Jim Halsell — were involved in that search. Three members have since been elected — Bryn Bagwell, Traci Farrah and Justin Eichmann.
Bagwell said she wants to see community involvement in the process as the board develops the profile and characteristics.
The plan which the board agreed to will involve posting existing documents on line and ask for public input in the next few weeks. The board will then review the input as it works to update the profile and characteristics during the upcoming meeting.
No date was set for the workshop session.
She suggested there were many aspects in both documents that could be used again, as well as aspects of the search.
The board will need to develop an application, decide on the salary range, develop promotional material, set applications deadlines and settle on an interview process, Heil said.
The board still needs to decide whether to hire a national firm to search for job applicants.
The search which resulted in Thomas' hiring lasted more than a year. The residents committee spent about four months developing the profile and list of characteristics.
The first search resulted in offering the job to an Arkansas applicant who accepted the position and then decided against it. That led to a second search, headed by Ray & Associates of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The board spent several hours interviewing several applicants and introduced them to the community at several functions the same day, including public receptions.