The Lawrence school district will employ an outside firm and create a committee to lead the search this year for the next permanent superintendent.
As part of their meeting Monday, school board members voted unanimously, 7-0, to give Kristen Ryan, executive director of human resources, the green light to begin selecting a search firm.
Ryan will also be charged with organizing and facilitating an ad hoc search committee that will include herself, one additional HR staff member, school board President Kelly Jones, Vice President GR Gordon-Ross, member Bob Byers and up to three district classified and certified union representatives.
Board members voted to hire Interim Superintendent Jeanice Swift on Aug. 12 to replace former Superintendent Anthony Lewis. She is contracted to serve in her position through the 2024-25 school year.
Jones said organizing meetings for interim superintendent candidates at individual schools was “work that we really could have used assistance from a firm.”
The process to hire Swift was rushed, which didn’t allow for in-depth community engagement, Gordon-Ross said.
“I think one of the things that we had talked about in July was that when we did the interim search, we were on such a shortened timeline, we didn’t have the luxury to involve all the people that we knew would want to be involved in a superintendent search,” Gordon-Ross said. “And we did our best to try to explain the difference between an interim search and a permanent search.”
The amount it would cost the district to hire a search firm is not yet clear, but Jones said the district will cover the contract with “one-time funds.”
“I think it’s also important to realize and understand the search company will be costly,” Byers said. “It’s not without its expense. And they will offer us a menu of items that we hopefully can choose from and tailor fit them to our needs. We don’t have to take everything that they offer. We can choose and develop a program that fits exactly what we want.”
In September 2017, during the last search for a permanent superintendent, the board approved a contract with Ray & Associates not to exceed $30,000, according to meeting minutes. Board member Shannon Kimball said Monday that firm had facilitated public meetings that allowed community members to reflect on final candidates.
Search firms being considered will go through an interview process. According to the board’s tentative timeline, they hope to select one by the end of October. The hired firm and the ad hoc search committee will then work together between November and March to find a permanent superintendent who will begin next year, during 2025-26.
In other business
• Legislative priorities: The board discussed its legislative priorities for 2024-25.
Annually, the board reviews and revises the district’s legislative priorities, or issues most important to advocate for at the state level. Fully funding special education, prioritizing public over private school funding, repealing statutes like Senate Bill 180, and providing universal free meals to students are among several priorities listed in the draft up for discussion.
The board took no action on the item Monday. View the draft of the board’s legislative priorities attached to the meeting agenda item.
• Rescheduled school board meeting: The next board meeting that was originally scheduled for Monday, Oct. 14 has been rescheduled to Tuesday, Oct. 15. Jones said the change is to observe Indigenous Peoples Day.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
