A search firm hired by the DeKalb County School District served a critical role in selecting candidates for several administrative positions, though the firm did not find the candidates itself, Superintendent Steve Green said Wednesday.
Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates contracted with the district for at least $94,000 to find candidates for six administrative job openings. Speaking by phone while overseas on vacation, Green said the five people already selected for those openings were candidates who expressed their desire for the jobs to him and other DeKalb County School District employees. One position remains unfilled.
The firm’s job is to advise the district as it makes decisions, Green said, vetting candidates once they apply to determine whether they fit with the district.
“They serve as part of the vetting process,” he said of the firm. “We hold them accountable in that. They work for us. The buck stops here, as the saying goes.”
The firm was contracted in December, at a cost not to exceed $150,000, on several executive-level positions. That included $17,500 each for an executive director for professional learning and director of special education, $15,000 for a chief legal officer and $14,500 each for chief human capital management officer, chief communications and community relations officer and executive director for student advancement. The firm also will be reimbursed for any travel and fees associated with advertising for the positions, among other things.
Three of those hired — chief human capital management officer Leo Brown, chief communications and community relations officer Eileen Houston-Stewart and executive director for student advancement Manomay Malathip — had worked with Green at his previous district, Kansas City Public Schools. They were brought to the district as interims, and applied for the positions after they arrived.
Jennifer Hackemeyer, the district’s new chief legal officer, and Oliver Lewis, executive director of professional learning, expressed interest in the jobs during the search process. Hackemeyer was previously with the Georgia Department of Education, and Lewis had been the district’s director of professional learning.
DeKalb County Board of Education member Joyce Morley has questioned the need for the search firm, saying the money spent was a waste if those selected weren’t hired because of its work. Green said the firm, in addition to vetting candidates for current openings, often finds candidates suitable for future openings.
Melvin Johnson, Board of Education chairman, said the board was aware of Green’s plan when it approved the search firm in December.
“We … are totally accustomed and understand the importance of search firm services and the costs associated with bringing high-quality candidates to the table,” he said. “Dr. Green fully vetted his plan with the board and we totally supported it with our board vote.”
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