The search for the next superintendent of Canton City Schools is about to begin.
The board of education will hold a special meeting on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Timken Senior High School administration building. The meeting will focus on the process of selecting a new superintendent for the district.
“We know it’s going to be long. We know it’s going to be involved,” board member Nadine McIlwain said.
At the board’s last regular scheduled meeting, board president Richard Milligan said filling the position is a high priority.
“Superintendent is a very important position in Canton City Schools, and we need to find the best person we can,” Milligan said.
Milligan said the board must choose from three alternatives as to who will conduct the candidate search process. He said the first option is that the school board could tackle the search itself. But he added that is an unreasonable task for the board to take on.
The second option is for the board to hire and Ohio-based organization to conduct the search.
“Last time we did a search, we used the Ohio School Boards Association,” Milligan said. “It costs about $7,000 to have them engage in a search process.”
The final option is for the board to use a national firm that specializes in superintendent searches. Milligan said using a national firm has the benefit of conducting a much more intensive and broader search, but he said there is a downside.
“One of the issues with this is its cost, because it’s considerably more expensive than using one of our state organizations,” Milligan said.
He said both the state and national organizations the board will consider hiring use approximately the same timelines throughout the hiring process. Both anticipate about a four month period.
The board did not make a decision at the last board meeting. However, members Milligan, McIlwain and Ida Ross-Freeman emphasized the need for community involvement in the hiring process.
“In our last attempt to obtain a superintendent there were community meetings,” McIlwain said. “What I’m hearing you say is something similar to what we’ve already done, and that is to give the community input as to what we want in a superintendent. I think all of those suggestions are good.”
The board will continue to discuss the hiring process at their meeting on Tuesday.
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