The Flossmoor School District 161 Board of Education approved a memorandum of understanding Thursday, April 2, with BWP and Associates, the consulting firm that will conduct the search for a new superintendent.
Current Superintendent Dana Smith announced Feb. 10 that he would be leaving the district after serving for nine years.
The BWP team included Mark Friedman, founder and president; Steven Griesbach, partner and Flossmoor Hills School principal from 2002 to 2005; Glenn Schlichting, associate and Concordia University chair of the division of leadership; and Johnnie Thomas, associate and current superintendent of Rich Township High School District 227.
Following the unanimous vote to approve the MOU, the BWP team presented an overview of its plan and asked the board for guidance on the timeline for the search process. Friedman said spring searches are not uncommon, even though it might seem like time is short.
“We do have backup plans with interim (superintendent) and a fall search, but we think we’ve got a good shot of bringing you a terrific candidate this spring,” Griesbach said. He expects to present the board with four to seven candidates after the initial screening process.
The consensus among board members present — President David Linnear, Ashly Giddens, Cameron Nelson, Michael Rouse and Christine Vlietstra — was to proceed with the search now and resort to the backup plan if the board is not satisfied with the first round of applicants.
Giddens and Rouse emphasized that they agreed to the spring timeline but would not sacrifice standards to make a quick hire.
“We want to find a qualified superintendent,” Giddens said. “I am not rushing to find someone to just be a placeholder if they’re not qualified.”
The process will include BWP team interviews with board members to clarify their vision for what the district needs from its next superintendent.
BWP will spend time from April 13 to April 23 getting input from district stakeholders, including students, staff, faculty, parents and community members through focus groups and an online survey.
By mid-May, BWP plans to present the slate of candidates for the board to interview. The board would have a month to choose finalists and conduct detailed interviews before making its decision, which could come by mid-June if all goes well.
Griesbach said the firm’s marketing plan would depend more upon advertising the position on websites representing key professional organizations with national reach and on BWP associates, each of whom has connections that will help reach potential candidates.
Giddens noted the community’s racial diversity and asked the firm to make sure to reach organizations representing Black and brown education professionals.
Griesbach assured her that BWP has good connections with diverse organizations.
