Springs School Board Begins Planning Superintendent Search, Modeled on Earlier Principal Search

Springs School will use an in-house approach similar to what was employed during its principal search to find the district’s next superintendent.

At its Tuesday work session, School Board members decided to once again use the approach modeled on Montauk School’s superintendent search, as detailed by that district’s School Board president, Diane Hausman.

“I’m happy to help,” said Hausman, who detailed steps in Montauk’s superintendent search conducted last school year. “I found it very rewarding. We really had a stake and ownership in our decisions. It was a very worthwhile process, in my opinion.”

Tentatively, Springs School Board members have opted to put out a survey through the school-to-home communication platform ParentSquare, as it did last year in asking community members what it would like to see in the next principal, in the next couple of weeks. The objective is to post the position in mid-October and accept applications through mid-December, with the goal of bringing in candidates for interviews in the beginning of January.

To cast as wide a net as possible, the district is considering posting the position on multiple platforms, like Indeed, LinkedIn and The New York Times, but point all potential candidates to submit resumes through OLAS, an online application system for K-12 education in New York and surrounding areas.

“There’s a place for them to put their resume. There’s a place for them to upload certificates. There’s a place for references,” said Springs Superintendent Debra Winter. “That’s what I do like about OLAS.” The hope is that requiring all areas to be filled out will subvert unqualified applicants.

Hausman said the Montauk School District only posted its superintendent position on OLAS, and received 30 applicants but immediately eliminated half due to a lack of credentials.

Placing the opening on OLAS is free, while a New York Times online submission costs $650 for four lines, Winter said. The New York State School Boards Association advertises at $190 for four weeks in its newsletter that reaches 11,000. A web posting is an additional $270 and email blast is another $550. The district just signed up for Indeed, which is free for the next 120 days — and it’s how the district just found six substitute teachers.

Hausman said Montauk opened the application process in November and began interviewing by January. From their 15 candidates, the field was narrowed to 10, and interviews were scheduled with two teams, one consisting of board members and the other with Montauk Teacher Association representatives. All interviews were done the same day, and the pool was cut again, to five, before another round of interviews with a group of community members from the chamber of commerce, fire department and library.

Two high school seniors also served on this committee. “That was invaluable,” Hausman said.

Three finalists were then chosen, and each were part of a Q&A conducted by the eighth grade class, and then brought in to interview with another team composed of the former superintendent, who had not been involved in the process to that point, the district clerk and treasurer.

“It was not as cumbersome as you think,” Hausman said. “Board members said they enjoyed the process and didn’t find it overwhelming at all, and it worked; it worked for us.”

Two of Montauk’s board members are teachers in other districts, so the pair were able to help sift through resumes to determine if the qualification requirements were met. Springs School is considering hiring outside help to sort through applications, if necessary.

“It sounds like a very streamlined process, in a way,” said Springs Board of Education President Barbara Dayton.

Hausman said the teacher association met more often than the board did across the process, but that board members were involved every step of the way, even observing the eighth grade Q&A session and sitting in on the administrative committee interviews.

Springs School Board members deciding to interview candidates in January is to avoid applicants being unavailable or unable to travel, if coming from afar, during the holiday season.

“People are maybe even missing opportunities because they’d like to interview, but they’re away,” said board Vice President Erik Fredrickson.

He’s hoping that getting through the certification application requirements will be a simple process, and that from there, board members can look beneath the stone to find out who will be the best fit.

“As we begin to identify, through the survey, our needs for a superintendent, we start looking beyond the mandatory certifications and to that past experience, whether it was curriculum-based, finance-based, etc.,” Fredrickson said. “That’s where we look at our current team and see where the gaps are and what the needs are to round out that leadership team, so that they complement each other.”

The board members are currently constructing the survey and a brief job description for posting. Anticipating three to four weeks of interviews, the district will aim to hire a new superintendent in February or March to either work beside Winter toward the end of the school year or take over when she retires in July.