Survey for stakeholders on desired qualifications is open through May 22

By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
LAKE ORION — After selecting the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) as the superintendent search firm on April 29, the Lake Orion Community Schools Board of Education held a special meeting on Monday to discuss the next steps in the search for a new superintendent.
The school board and MASB created a preliminary posting for the position, a timeline for the search and covered the next steps of the search. A decision will be made in around 12-14 weeks, according to Shawn Lewis-Lakin of MASB.
The search process is made up of four phases: a preparation phase that takes one to three weeks; a recruitment phase that takes around seven weeks; an interview phase taking one to two weeks; and the board making a decision on the candidates. A fifth phase will begin after a decision is made to support the new superintendent.
All meetings during the process will be open to the public, according to Lewis-Lakin. This includes all deliberations and decisions made during the process.
“We’re going to do as much of this as we possibly can in the public, at the table, in this room with the public available and as a part of it,” Lewis-Lakin said. “The one place where there is confidentiality is applicants can apply and their applications can be reviewed in confidence.”
The timeline begins with stakeholder input meetings that will take place throughout the day on May 15, and May 16, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Stakeholders include staff, parents, students, union leaders, community members and more.
Stakeholders can take an anonymous survey expressing their ideal superintendent. The survey asks about desired personal characteristics in a superintendent, the strategy they think the board should take in hiring a candidate, desired experiences and skills, desired minimum education levels, leadership styles and more. The survey is open as of May 7, and will close May 22, at 11:59 p.m.
The board will hold a workshop at 7 p.m. on May 29 where stakeholders’ input will be reported and selection criteria will be developed.
The next day, May 30, a “detailed profile of the ideal candidate will be added” to the preliminary posting. The posting encourages applicants to review the profile when it is posted, then to submit their application, Lewis-Lakin said.
“I had a call today from somebody who knows that this meeting was tonight, who was interested in talking to me,” Lewis-Lakin said. “There’s interest in the position.”
Applications will no longer be accepted after 4 p.m. on June 18, before the board receives access to candidate materials on June 21.
Another board workshop will be held at 6 p.m. on June 25 to prepare for interviews by creating interview questions and selecting candidates to interview. Lewis-Lakin said once a candidate agrees to an interview, their name will be given to the public the next morning in a press release.
According to the timeline, the first round of five to seven interviews is scheduled for 6 p.m. July 17, and July 18.
Two finalists will be interviewed on July 30, and/or July 31. The board most often makes a decision after the second-round interviews, according to the timeline. If a decision is not made, visits can be made to a candidate’s district.
The superintendent is expected to be on site on Aug. 15, or as negotiated by the board and the candidate.
Despite the timeline, multiple board members agreed that appointing an interim superintendent is necessary. No decision was made regarding who to appoint as interim superintendent.
Current superintendent Ben Kirby’s last day with the district is June 30. Kirby begins his role as the new superintendent of Forest Hills Public School in July.
To follow the superintendent search, visit www.lakeorionschools.org and click on the Superintendent Search tab. Any stakeholders interested in completing the anonymous online survey can do so by visiting https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LakeOrionSuptSurvey.