The Ann Arbor Public Schools board has released a list of six semi-finalists in its superintendent search, to replace outgoing superintendent Patricia Green. [.pdf of AAPS press release]
Semi-finalists are:
The Ann Arbor Schools Musings blog is asking readers to weigh in with their thoughts on Ann Arbor Public Schools superintendent Patricia Green, who announced her resignation this week. One of the open-ended questions asks about qualities that are important for the next superintendent. [Source]
Ann Arbor Public Schools superintendent Patricia Green has turned in her resignation, after a little less than two years on the job. Her resignation takes effect in mid-July. In a brief letter to AAPS staff and families in the school system, Green said she intends to retire after 43 years in the profession. [.pdf of Green's letter]
Patricia Green (Chronicle file photo by Monet Tiedemann)
She began her tenure on July 1, 2011 with a five-year contract and a starting salary of $245,000. According to AAPS spokeswoman Liz Margolis, a voluntary salary reduction that Green had recently offered has not yet been implemented. Under the terms … [Full Story]
At a meeting Wednesday night with Ray & Associates – the search firm hired to help find a new superintendent – Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) school board members set a tentative timeline for the search process. They aim to have a new superintendent in place by the end of February or early March 2011. Ray & Associates met yesterday with each board member individually to solicit input to be used in developing a candidate profile.
The next step in the search process will be to gather similar input from board associations, community leaders, and the public at open forums as well as invitation-only meetings by the end of October. The firm also suggested posting a 33-item survey on the district’s website to encourage even wider participation in the profile’s development. [Full Story]
Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education search firm interviews (Sept. 22, 2010): The Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) school board has narrowed its short list of potential consultants to help with its superintendent search to two firms: Ray & Associates Inc. of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and McPherson & Jacobson LLC of Omaha, Nebraska. Both firms have significant expertise in conducting national superintendent searches.
During a seven-hour meeting held at the Balas Administration Building, the board discussed selection criteria, set their interview process, interviewed five firms, and decided to check the references of two of them. A theme that emerged throughout the day was the challenge of conducting a search in an “open state” such as Michigan, where candidates’ names will be made public early in the process as a requirement of the Open Meetings Act.
The board is expected to make a final selection at its regular board meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 29. The search firm will be seeking a replacement for outgoing superintendent Todd Roberts, who announced his departure in mid-August. AAPS deputy superintendent Robert Allen was recently selected to serve as interim superintendent when Roberts leaves within the next two weeks. [Full Story]
Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education formal bid opening (Sept. 10, 2010): Seven professional services firms have bid on an Ann Arbor Public Schools contract to aid in the search for a new district superintendent. Dave Comsa, AAPS assistant superintendent for human resources and legal services, chaired a formal bid opening today, publicly opening the stack of mail containing the bids.
Amy Osinski and Dave Comsa, opening the bids. Comsa is assistant superintendent for human resources and legal services; Osinski is the school board's secretary.
In each case, Comsa checked whether the bid contained a signed original, as well as a notarized affidavit disclosing any familial relationships that might pose a conflict of interest. Comsa stated that the purpose of the morning meeting was simply to open the bids and cursorily examine them, but not to answer questions or hold any discussion.
However, representatives of two bidders were present – David J. Kinsella & Associates, and the Michigan Association of School Boards. These were the same two firms that attended the pre-bid meeting last week. [Full Story]
Representatives from two executive search consultants met with two members of the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education on Friday to discuss the request for proposals (RFP) recently issued by the district. In the last week of August, the district issued the RFP, which solicits proposals to help with the board’s search for a new superintendent, after Todd Roberts resigned in mid-August.
AAPS board members Susan Baskett and Glenn Nelson met with representatives of two search consultants who will be bidding for the contract to help AAPS with its superintendent search. (Photos by the writer.)
The two consultants that attended were the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB), from Lansing, and David J. Kinsella and Associates, from Ann Arbor. By the end of the meeting, both consultants said their questions had been answered, and that they planned to submit proposals.
As the board embarks on the replacement process for Roberts – the district’s current superintendent who will be leaving in November – it has decided to hire an executive search firm to help in the recruitment, selection, and hiring process. Friday’s meeting was optional, and offered potential bidders a chance to ask questions of board members Glenn Nelson and Susan Baskett before bids are due on Friday, Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. [Full Story]
Ann Arbor Public Schools board of education meeting (Aug. 23, 2010): At a special meeting held Monday, the school board approved a request for proposals (RFP) from professional services firms to assist them as they search for a new superintendent. The RFP was released to search firms and posted on the AAPS website [.pdf of RFP]. The district’s current superintendent, Todd Roberts, has resigned, and will be leaving the district by mid-November to move closer to family and to become chancellor of the North Carolina School for Science and Math.
Christine Stead and Deb Mexicotte discuss a draft of the RFP from search firms to help with the hiring of a new superintendent. (Photos by the writer.)
Board treasurer Christine Stead had offered to draft an RFP for board review at the last regular board meeting. Monday’s meeting was an opportunity for the rest of the board to review her work, and suggest changes. Most of the recommended changes were accepted without objection, but others led to some reflective discussion that revealed priorities for the board.
One of the changes made to the RFP was to add a pre-bid meeting for the purpose of answering clarifying questions about the RFP. The pre-bid meeting will be held on Friday, Sept. 3 at 10 a.m., at the Balas Administration Building, 2555 S. State Street. Any interested bidders are invited to participate in person or via teleconference. The deadline for submitting responses to the RFP is Friday, Sept. 10 at 10 a.m.
The only other official business conducted at Monday’s meeting was the passing of a motion to entertain Roberts’ suggestions for interim staff, which he will bring to the next board meeting. [Full Story]
