By PAMELA GOULD
As the 2010-11 school year begins today for most divisions in the Fredericksburg region, Spotsylvania County is looking ahead to 2011-12.
That's when the region's second-biggest school division will be starting a new chapter with a new superintendent.
Superintendent Jerry Hill retires at the end of this school year, and the Spotsylvania School Board is preparing to launch the public part of its search for his replacement later this month.
In August, the board approved BWP and Associates of Libertyville, Ill., as its search consultant.
BWP was chosen from five applicants, none of which is located in Virginia. Three are based in Illinois, one in Nebraska and one in Iowa.
Board member Marty Wilder, who with board member Amanda Blalock is chairing the superintendent search committee, said he supported BWP because of "the breadth and depth of their experience."
BWP's nine-member board of directors includes six former superintendents. The firm has helped school districts in 36 states find administrators, according to the company website.
Wilder noted that Spotsylvania used members of the firm in a previous search.
Stafford County and the city of Fredericksburg are also among 16 public school divisions in Virginia to have employed them.
BWP and Associates was created when Harold Webb Associates, PNR Associates and The Bickert Group joined. Harold Webb Associates, founded in 1977, is the nation's first superintendent search firm and is the one Spotsylvania used before.
SEARCH TO TRANSITION
BWP's first task is to organize public input events to craft the list of characteristics Spotsylvania residents want in their next superintendent.
Afterward, it will advertise the position--seeking someone with those characteristics. It will conduct background checks and provide the School Board with a slate of six to eight candidates for consideration.
The board will then interview the top candidates; may visit where they currently work; and will decide whom to hire, with the goal of having the new person named in time to meet with Hill and outgoing senior staff.
The consultant's contract includes a "search success" clause that covers the division if the next superintendent doesn't work out.
If the superintendent quits or is fired within two years, BWP will conduct another search at its own expense.
BWP will be paid no more than $33,600 for services that range from conducting the search to helping with the leadership transition.
GATHERING PUBLIC INPUT
The consultant is expected to begin gathering community input the week of Sept. 20, Wilder said. Though exact dates and times for each step were still being ironed out, BWP plans to use four means to assemble information to craft a leadership profile.
Consultants will:
Interview School Board members;
Hold one public forum for employees and one for the general public;
Organize small group meetings with teachers, administrators, support staff, parents, business leaders, community leaders and students;
Solicit input via an online survey posted on the division's website so anyone not reached through one of the other methods can provide his or her input.
Wilder said the public input portion of the superintendent search is among the most important.
"That's the big thing," he said. "You want to make sure you hear from anyone who wants to have a voice."
Pamela Gould: 540/735-1972
Email: pgould@freelancestar.com
September 2010--Consultants interview School Board, conduct meetings and post online survey to gather public input on their desires for the next superintendent. They create list of desired characteristics.
September-December 2010--Advertise position and recruit.
November 2010--Report results of online survey and status of search.
Dec. 17, 2010--Candidate applications due to BWP.
Jan. 4-6, 2011--Consultants review recommended candidates with School Board. Board chooses candidates to interview.
Jan. 10-13, 2011--Initial interviews of candidates.
Jan. 13-14, 2011--Board announces names of at least three finalists.
Jan. 18-21, 2011--Final interviews of finalists.
Jan. 24-27, 2010--School Board visits finalists' communities (optional).
July 1, 2011--New superintendent starts.
As of today, all public schools across the region have begun the 2010-11 year.
Spotsylvania and Culpeper counties resumed classes last month. Today, students begin the school year in the cities of Fredericksburg and Colonial Beach, and the counties of Stafford, King George, Caroline, Orange and Westmoreland.