Community to Help Pick Next Superintendent

Students, parents, staff and community members will all be involved in the selection of the next superintendent to lead the Rapid City Area Schools under a plan outlined by the Board of Education today. Beginning this week, the District will post an online survey that asks respondents to identify the most important characteristics of a good superintendent.

The Board will also establish seven stakeholder committees to provide input to the Board and meet with finalists. According to Board President Wes Storm separate committees will be created for each of the following groups: community, parents, business, teachers, principals, classified staff, and CSAC executive staff.

People interested in serving on the community committee are invited to submit their names to Shirley Fletcher in the Superintendent’s Office at Shirley.Fletcher@k12.sd.us or by calling 394-4031. Committee members must be available to meet on January 7 for an orientation and conversation about what the District is looking for in a new superintendent. They must also be available from March 9-16 to interview candidates.

Dr. Richard Christie from Ray and Associates, the search consultants hired to work with the Board, presented a timeline for the search process. Highlights include:

• January 7 – Meetings with constituent and stakeholder committees.
• January 18 – Finalize job announcement to reflect the District’s desires and priorities.
• January 19 – Consultants begin active recruitment.
• February 11 – American Assoc. of School Administrators convention, Phoenix, AZ.
• February 16 – Deadline for all application materials.
• March 6 – Consultant presents semi-finalists to the Board. Board selects finalists for interviews.
• March 9-16 – Board and committees interview candidates.
• Mid-March – Selection of top candidate and offer.

After collecting advice from the community at large and from the stakeholder committees, the ultimate hiring decision will be made by the seven members of the Board of Education. Storm said that the Board hopes to have a new superintendent chosen by the end of March. Responding to a question by Board Member Suzan Nolan, Dr. Christie said that if the applicant pool does not satisfy the Board, Ray and Associates will continue the search process.

Superintendent’s Salary Likely to Increase

After emerging from an executive session to discuss compensation issues, Storm provided an overview of the consultant’s recommendations regarding the superintendent’s salary. He noted that district’s in the northern Great Plains with comparable student populations and staffs are paying between $162,000 and $202,000 plus fringe benefits to their superintendents. Given Rapid City’s size, the Board believes it will have to advertise the superintendent’s job to start at $173,000 plus fringe benefits. This salary represents an approximately 35 percent increase over the salary paid to current superintendent Dr. Peter Wharton. For more on the salary issue, see Kayla Gahagan’s article in the Rapid City Journal.