Elk River Area School Board taps MSBA for superintendent search

by Jim Boyle

Editor

The Elk River Area School Board has approved on a 5-1 vote a proposal by the Minnesota School Boards Association to facilitate the search for the next superintendent on behalf of ISD 728.

The search is expected to start in early July to late August and finish mid- to late-October at a cost of between $25,500 to $29,500. The superintendent would start Jan. 1, 2025, or July 1, 2025, according to the MSBA’s proposal presented by Barb Dorn at the June 10 School Board meeting.

School Board Chairwoman Holly Thompson, Vice Chair Joel Nelson, Clerk Sarah Hamlin and School Board Directors Sara Weis and Christi Tullbane voted in favor of the proposal. Mindy Freiberg cast the lone “no” vote. School Board Director John Anderson was absent.

Freiberg expressed support for going with MSBA, but she had questions about the timing of the search and asked about the possibility of lengthening or pushing the search off given the possibility of three new board members getting elected in November.

“Ideally, they would be part of the process,” Freiberg said.

Dorn, director of leadership development and executive search at MSBA, explained the timing of Superintendent Dan Bittman’s retirement six months from now, there’s an opportunity to get ahead of other searches and have someone in place by Jan. 1.

“The impact of an election... has been on top of mind for probably the last year and a half to two years on every search that we’ve done,” Dorn said.

Her proposal called for starting the search early, and not letting it last longer than four months.

“That (four months) felt like a lot,” she said. “If you want to lengthen it, you absolutely have that choice (as a board) to do that,” she said.

Freiberg asked if lengthening it would make it harder to find candidates, depending on how the board is running.

“Great question,” Dorn said. “I don’t know... It really depends on the district, on the reputation, on the community and how people are feeling about things.”

Dorn cautioned against starting a search in January, when new members are drinking from a fire hose.

“Generally speaking, I tell boards, if you can start it in summer or fall, at least wrap it up before the end of the year, because you make it very difficult for brand new board members if you have them,” she said.

The motion and second to approve the proposal called for accepting the proposed timeline.

Dorn fielded other questions, too

Nelson also had a series of questions before a motion was made and a vote was taken on the proposal. They ranged from questions about process to stakeholder involvement and the differences between going with the MSBA that develops School Board members versus more traditional executive search firms.

Nelson asked whether it was a conflict of interest to have the MSBA to lead a superintendent search. The Elk River Area School District has used traditional search firms in the past.

Dorn provided a long explanation before saying it’s not a conflict of interest at all but rather an extension of services that MSBA offers.

“We understand what it is like to serve as a school board member, and we are looking out for these school boards in our search process,” she said. “We also believe in supporting the candidates and respecting the opportunities they have. However, we’re Team School Board, 1,000% of the way for a superintendent search.”

Dorn said there are stark differences between the two approaches, and there’s been an evolution in superintendent search in general across the country over the last 10 years. She said traditional superintendent search firms conduct searches through a different lens than the MSBA or other school board associations across the country,

“Our lens is entirely School Board leadership,” she said. “So we do not represent candidates. We don’t have a pool of candidates. We don’t place candidates. We represent the school board and we understand what you are looking for, and we support you in this search versus us conducting a search. The approach is very different, at least in our estimation.”

Dorn says one of the largest differences is that the MSBA entrusts the search process to the board because its members know this district far better than any search firm or association.

“So we support you in making those decisions, so we provide you with every piece of information you need in order to make an important decision that’s best for the stakeholders of ISD 728,” she said. “You also, in an MSBA search, see all of the applications. That’s one of the largest differentiations between MSBA and the search firms. Because we believe that school boards can be trusted with private data, and it is private data per state statute, until you have selected them to be interviewed, regardless if it’s Round One or (Round) 2.”

MSBA shares all of the applicants, trains on privacy of data

The MSBA shares every applicant’s information, and the association walks board members through training to understand the importance of private data and what it means to hold (that) information in confidence.

“We still do vetting,” Dorn said. “We still do reference checking. We still have a team of former superintendents who serve MSBA as service providers. They help us look through the applications ... Through leadership profiles, we really vet who we feel the strongest candidates are, and do pre-interviews with them and check references. We will come to you with a recommended slate. You, however, will have seen all of the applications. So you have the option and very much the right to interview people that we are not recommending.”

The MSBA, which has been leading searches for 14 years, has become the most sought after source. Dorn said there were 64 superintendent transitions this past year and 22 districts did their own searches with internal resources. The MSBA helped with training and other resources.

“We, however, did 78% of searches (that were not done internally) in the state of Minnesota last year and this year, I think, we’ve done about 90% of them so we are now the leading search provider.”

Dorn’s proposal included a list of all the MSBA-led searches over the last four school years, which totaled 96 including 26 the association did last year.

Nelson also asked about the importance of stakeholder input, and how valuable it is. Dorn said it’s extremely important but can be difficult if it’s not managed properly.

“As long as stakeholders are aware of their advisory capacity only,” she said. “The biggest mistake certain search firms make by using stakeholder input is to perhaps call them a hiring committee. Semantics matter. Ultimately, you are the hiring committee and only you.”

Stakeholder input for searches includes surveys to the masses

Dorn went into great detail how the MSBA solicits stakeholder input and additional ala carte options the district has.

The main sources of stakeholder input include an online survey, open to all staff, parents, students, community members, and district stakeholders to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. The survey will be offered in multiple languages and in hard copy for those who prefer that.

The MSBA also holds an informational Q and A session about the process that is recorded so all stakeholders can see it.

The MSBA also offers input forums or interview committees in conjunction with the second round of interviews.

Ala carte options include focus groups and/or listening sessions. Dorn said boards are cautioned to consider the obstacles that do exist for hosting focus groups and/or listening sessions.

“If you hold those in addition to surveys, sometimes you elevate some voices over others, because they’re heard twice or because of comfort level speaking in groups,” said Dorn, who praised the summary reports prepared after surveys are completed.

“One of the last things I always ask is, can you hear the voices of the people you were elected by in this report?” Dorn said. “And at least to this point in five years, people have always said they (the voices) are in here.

“It’s not just all the good stuff. We’re going to make sure that people understand that they were heard. We also want candidates to understand where the district is and what the stakeholders are feeling. We want to look for alignment between your stakeholders and the board.”

School Board Chairwoman Holly Thompson and other board members complimented Dorn for the comprehensive search process laid out and how it incorporates stakeholders.

“I don’t know that we had that level of detail (in previous searches),” Thompson said.

District 728 superintendent search timeline

Early July 2024 to Late August 2024

•School board holds initial planning meeting with MSBA search team to establish the search timeline, review hiring criteria, identify district’s position in the marketplace, discuss stakeholder involvement, and finalize all processes and procedures for conducting the search.

•School board approves all materials, including hiring criteria, leadership profile, and vacancy brochure. MSBA search team finalizes application procedures, advertises the vacancy, and recruits candidates. MSBA hosts an informational Q&A with MSBA session regarding the superintendent search process. MSBA’s search team collects stakeholder input through qualitative and quantitative data survey. MSBA prepares summary of stakeholder input for board to review and integrate into the search process.

Late August 2024 to Mid-September 2024

•MSBA search team continues to advertise the vacancy, recruit candidates, and receive applications.

•MSBA search team conducts initial screening of applicants.

•MSBA search team conducts vetting of applicants, preliminary verification of references, and pre-interviews with candidates most aligned with the district’s leadership profile.

Late September 2024

•MSBA’s search team meets with the school board to conduct interview training, develop interview questions, clarify interview procedures, and facilitate applicant screening conducted by the school board to select finalists for interviews.

Early October 2024 to Mid-October 2024

•School board conducts Round 1 interviews.

•School board conducts reference checks.

•School board conducts Round 2 interviews and invites stakeholder feedback, if desired.

•School board selects lone finalist.

Mid-October 2024 to Late October 2024

•School board negotiates terms and conditions of superintendent’s contract.

•School board meets to approve the superintendent’s employment contract.

January 1, 2025 or July 1, 2025

•Superintendent reports to work.

Late July to late December 2025

•New board-superintendent team participates in MSBA’s transition workshop.

(NOTE: This timeline provides a starting point for considering and adopting a superintendent search timeline. Specific dates and times will be determined at the initial planning meeting.)