Fulton County school board members announced they’ve started the search for a permanent superintendent, and hope to have the district leader hired by this summer.
Former Superintendent Robert Avossa left his post in June to accept a superintendent's position in Palm Beach County in Florida. Kenneth Zeff, the district's chief strategy and innovation officer, was appointed interim superintendent and began that job June 2.
School board President Linda McCain said at a meeting Thursday that waiting six months to announce the search was intentional so the “school year could be started without the distraction of looking for a new leader.”
As part of the search, the district’s school councils of students, staff, parents and community and business leaders will be asked what they’d like a new superintendent to accomplish.
School board members also will be soliciting input through community meetings, and a survey will be launched on the district’s website to provide an online forum for feedback.
As it did with the last superintendent search, the school board will manage the process through its attorney, the school district said in a released statement. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP will solicit candidates from a number of search firms as well as through national advertisements and notices to state and national school leadership associations.
Zeff joined Fulton schools in 2012 as its chief strategy and innovation officer. In this role he provides direction for the development and execution of the system’s overall strategy to improve student achievement.
Departments under the division of strategy and innovation include school governance and flexibility, startup charter schools, grant development, accountability, research and program evaluation and the Fulton Education Foundation.
Fulton’s school system is the fourth-largest in Georgia, with close to 96,000 students.
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