Regarding superintendent searches

I've been watching these across the state, and, as Worcester takes this up tonight*, thought it timely.

Fall River:

Of how the process should unfold, Costa said, “I think it needs to be transparent, inclusive, done very carefully. This is a very huge endeavor, and it’s certainly critical to the very success of this school district.”

Fellow committee member Martins agreed. “I move that this be a highly transparent and open issue,” he said, adding that he felt the potential search committee should consist of representatives from the Fall River Educators Assocation, the Fall River Administrators Association, students, parents, community members, and School Committee members.

“This would certainly give sufficient openness to the process,” Martins said, adding that time is of the essence.

“If we don’t move along we’ll find that June will be here before we know it, and we have a long way to go,” he said.

Mayor Jasiel Correia II, who serves as chair of the School Committee, appeared to agree with Martins’ suggestion for subcommittee members, saying he thinks it’s important “to begin the process with a community based, multi-faceted group of people that can help the school committee through this process.”

North Adams:

"This is the most important hire we are ever going to do," said Alcombright. "This is the most important job in the city of North Adams, this is the investment ... We need to do everything we can to get the best qualified candidate."

Barnstable:

 The appointment of a superintendent is one of the most important responsibilities of any school committee. Here in Barnstable, we had the benefit of the work of a stellar search committee as well as input from the entire community...The search process itself provided an opportunity to step back and assess where the district is, where we would like it to go, and what we should look for in a leader. We sought and heard the community’s voice in this process. The superintendent search committee included community members, parents, teachers, administrators, town councilors and school committee members. 

*I should perhaps note here that while MASC, for which I now work, does superintendent searches, they did not bid on Worcester's.