July 29, 1997FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Trost)
RE: BOARD ANNOUNCES PROCESS
FOR SEARCH FOR NEW SUPERINTENDENT
The Board of Education at a special meeting today reviewed details of the process it plans to use to find a new superintendent to succeed Dr. Bertha O. Pendleton, who will retire when her contract expires June 30, 1998. Adoption of the process is set for Aug. 5.
In discussing the process, which calls for extensive community involvement, the board announced that Richard Collato, president and chief executive officer of the YMCA of San Diego County, has agreed to chair the community profiling committee as well as the search committee.
"An advisory committee of citizen and district leadership will develop a profile of the next superintendent, who will lead this district into the 21st century," Board President Ron Ottinger said during the meeting. Collato will head this group, which will include 15-21 community leaders who will be appointed by the board and who represent a cross-section of San Diego, including district employees.
"The board expects this committee to interview people in leadership positions in education, business, government, higher education, the nonprofit sector and community organizations," Ottinger said, as part of its work to develop a profile of skills and vision the next superintendent should possess. Members of this group, the Citizens Committee to Profile the Next Century Superintendent, will be selected in September, Ottinger said.
A second, smaller group, called the Superintendent Search Committee and comprised of Collato and four other distinguished community members, will oversee the search for the new superintendent and screen potential candidates. The committee is expected to put forward two or three finalists for board consideration, Ottinger said. Selection of the new superintendent could come as early as March 1998, according to a time line prepared by Collato and approved by the board.
The district also will hire a consultant or executive search firm to recruit potential candidates. These are the candidates the five-member Superintendent Search Committee will screen.
Collato was selected because of his extensive experience in leading a large nonprofit organization and because of his position as a highly respected leader in the city. He has been president and chief executive officer of the YMCA since 1981 and has built the organization into a $40 million countywide enterprise focused on programs for youth and their families. He will not be paid for his services to the district in conjunction with the search for a new superintendent.
Two members of the Board of Education and Collato will evaluate the proposals submitted by search firms and will recommend a finalist for board approval. Interested firms have until Aug. 29 to submit proposals for consideration.
The next major step in the search will come Sept. 16 when the three-member panel recommends which executive search firm to hire.
After the search firm is selected, the board will appoint members of the Citizens Committee to Profile the Next Century Superintendent, which is charged with holding public discussions and interviews and developing a profile by Oct. 28. Recruitment by the executive search firm will begin after the board approves a search plan developed by the firm and the superintendent search committee. Potential candidates will be identified in November and December.
Screening of potential candidates will begin in January and continue into February, with final screening by the Board of Education in mid-February. Ottinger expects a selection to be made and announced in early March.
A transition period for the new superintendent could begin as early as April. Pendleton's contract expires June 30, 1998, and she is expected to complete her contract and assist the superintendent-designee during the transition period, Ottinger said.
