Monthly Archives: January 2015

Your Input on a Superintendent Search Committee

On Tuesday the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution recommending a Superintendent Search Committee. This Monday the DeKalb School Board will vote up or down on the search committee and its purview.
Question: Do you support having a Superintendent Search Committee? Why?
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Here is what community leaders from around the county are saying about a Superintendent Search Committee:
Scott Holcomb, State Representative – “Parent Councils United, which in my house district includes members of the Emory/LaVista Parent Council, the Tucker Parent Council and the Dunwoody/Chamblee Parent Council, is recommending that the BOE appoint a Candidate Selection Committee, comprised of recognized community leaders. Doing so would indicate that DeKalb County is ready to move ahead using best search practices by partnering with key stakeholders.”
Fran Millar, State Senator – “Since there is a professional search firm, I believe they should engage a representative group of community leaders in the process. The administration should not be involved (Board controls the process) except as a resource. Employees do not hire their boss period.”
Lee May, DeKalb Interim CEO – “I recommend the creation of a selection committee that would interview the list of candidates offered by PROACT.”
Diane Allers, President of Dunwoody Chamblee Parent Council (DCPC) – “A community based search committee is completely invested in the outcome of our superintendent search and will help to guide PROACT in searching for candidates”
Judy Limor, Vanderlyn School Council – “A county of our size and diversity must use its own community leaders to help search for a new superintendent. That is the ONLY way that our needs will be heard, recognized, and (hopefully) addressed going forward.”
Leslie Freymann, DCPC Officer – “I do very much support a Superintendent Search Committee”
Lisa Victory, Dunwoody High School Council – “The Superintendent Search Committee should represent an inclusive and broad population of stakeholders from the community. Its purpose should be to manage the search firm.”
Amanda Rountree, Dunwoody Elementary PTO Co-President – “I support having a Superintendent Search Committee.”
Brent Morris, Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Chair – “To mirror what APS did is healthy for DeKalb as a whole. ”
Shari Bayer, Vanderlyn School Council – “I think it is critically important to have a community-based search committee lead the search firm. “

Dekalb Commissioners Call For School Superintendent Search Committee

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners calls for a “transparent, inclusive and credible superintendent search process.” (see video here)

This Monday (Feb 2), the DeKalb School Board will discuss and vote on the process for continuing the search for a superintendent.  Last month, the administration brought one search firm, PROACT, to the board.  The board voted to approve PROACT, and the board has had no input into the search process since then.  As discussed in this superintendent search update, PROACT and the administration have been working together putting together times and schedules for public engagement sessions.
Yesterday (Jan 27), the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners unanimously came together and approved a resolution to ask the “DeKalb Board of Education to adopt a Superintendent search protocol that includes a Selection Committee of parents, leaders, and community members, to manage, guide, and recommend the best qualified candidate to be the Superintendent.”
The BOC echoed sentiments expressed by CEO Lee May who sent a letter to the school board recommending “the creation of a selection committee that would interview the list of candidates offered by PROACT.”  DeKalb’s Parent Council United has called for a process similar to the APS Superintendent Search Committee Framework where the committee managed the search firm and process.
The DeKalb Commissioners went on to declare the qualifications they would like to see in the next Superintendent saying, “DeKalb Board of Commissioners believes that the best qualified candidate must demonstrate a record of improved academic achievement in a school district of significant size and complexity, across all disaggregated, socio-economic groups.”
As of the superintendent search update in December, the board of education is split on the idea of a Superintendent Search Committee.
Question: Will DeKalb Schools live what it preaches on its letter head, “The school cannot live apart from the community”
Below is the resolution passed by the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners below.


The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners

Resolution in Support of a Transparent and Inclusive Superintendent Search Process
Whereas:            the DeKalb County School District is currently engaged in defining the parameters for the search for the next Superintendent; and
Whereas:            the DeKalb County School District has historically maintained as an official position noted on its letterhead that, “The school cannot live apart from the community”; and
Whereas:            the next leader of the DeKalb County School District must have credibility with the broad community in order to be successful.
Therefore be it resolved               that the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners supports and encourages the DeKalb Board of Education to adopt a Superintendent search protocol that includes a Selection Committee of parents, leaders, and community members, to manage, guide, and recommend the best qualified candidate to be the Superintendent.
Be it further resolved that the DeKalb Board of Commissioners believes that the best qualified candidate must demonstrate a record of improved academic achievement in a school district of significant size and complexity, across all disaggregated, socio-economic groups.
Be it further resolved that the DeKalb Board of Commissioners believes that the Selection Committee should consist of representatives from each Parent Council, a representative from the Georgia Charter Schools Association, a parent or community leader from each school board district, selected by the school board member, and a PAGE representative.