Details of the RCSD superintendent search emerge

The Rochester City School District Board of Education has a guiding timeline for hiring the district’s next superintendent. The individual could be hired as early as March 2025.

After two meetings with Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, there appears to be alignment among board members on the search firm’s second timetable, adjusted based on board concerns.

“We can get everything done thoroughly, we believe, in three to four months,” said Shawn Joseph, HYA lead associate, at a recent meeting. “But that’s if there’s a need to move through quickly and what I heard last time was that you don’t have an urgency to move quickly, but want to move effectively.

“We’ll point out the decision points, but ultimately, you know your community, you know what you need, and the more information you give us, the more we’ll go back and adjust,” he added. “It’s not etched in stone.”

The currently planned process would begin in earnest later this month with an online survey and a round of HYA interviews with stakeholder groups selected based on board suggestions. This was pushed back from its initial start date of early September to accommodate families and staff who are still adjusting to the start of school.

“I know for me as a parent, I don’t want to participate in anything in the first two weeks of school starting since we’re all getting reaccumulated and situated,” Vice President Beatriz LeBron said at a prior meeting. “That’s going to be the same case for our staff, our educators, people in the classroom. Those two weeks can be hectic.”

The search firm says it will use that information to create a “Leadership Profile Report” to be presented to the board in late November. The profile is used to divide candidates into three tiers: candidates who are a best fit and qualified, those who are qualified but not a good fit, and those who are neither a good fit or qualified.

By January 2025, HYA plans to present applicants and carry out the first round of interviews, likely in a virtual setting with the board. The following month, it would meet with the semifinalists, potentially for in-person interviews in the district.

According to the current timeline, the superintendent would be hired next March and assume their responsibilities in June 2025. Board members debated the merits of a starting date, discussing the balancing act between maintaining stability and providing onboarding time to the new hire.

“I just have witnessed this district go through this process multiple ways, multiple times, and it’s always in the middle of a school year. … It’s always going to be disruptive when you bring in new leadership,” LeBron said.

“People are then unfocused on the work with the hype around this new individual, and people not knowing which way they want to go; we’ve lost people that way. I just want to have a stable school year because our families deserve that,” she continued, clarifying she was amenable to a start time between March and June.

“Usually these appointments are made around March or the beginning of April because if you are going to hire a candidate from outside of New York or the county, you have to give the person the opportunity to meet with the staff. But also, if they are required to live in the city, give them time to find a place for them and their family,” said state monitor Jamie Alicia, referring to the almost assured residency requirement with the job.

Other members proposed May instead for a new superintendent, potentially serving as a consultant or being onboarded during that time, depending on their level of experience. The board members ultimately tabled that decision, possibly until they have more information on the candidates.

Another element left undecided was the balance of community engagement and confidentiality in the process. While HYA says community engagement will definitely occur through interviews and a dedicated informative webpage on the search, there is an option for stakeholders to meet with finalists or for the process to be entirely open to the public.

While those concepts would certainly provide transparency to the superintendent search, Joseph warned that it would also drive candidates away from applying.

“It can be a deterrent for some candidates, because when he or she is announced that they’re going to be the new superintendent in Rochester, that can put that person in a precarious situation,” he said. “And you don’t want it to lag on for months and months either, because people won’t stay in the process.”

Finally, the salary range for the new superintendent also remains to be determined. The board expressed a desire to review past salaries as well as those typical for similar school districts. HYA said it would be important to provide that information quickly so the firm can post the job as soon as possible.

“I can tell you there is a lot of national interest in this role,” Joseph said. “Your focus on governance and conversations centering around trying to get it right for your community, trying to get it right for your kids, I think all of that is excellent.”

Jacob Schermerhorn is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and data journalist. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. Submissions to the Letters page should be sent to [email protected].