Atlanta school board members took a tangible step on Tuesday toward finding their next superintendent, voting to hire an executive firm to lead their search.
The board chose Illinois-based Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates by unanimous vote. The contract, which is not to exceed $60,000 annually, includes an option for a one-year renewal.
"This is a major mile-marker for the board in this process," board Chairman Khaatim Sherrer El said, adding the firm, "will work with the board to engage the broader community in setting forth the characteristics that will work for the next superintendent."
Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates was one of two firms that made an in-person pitch to members on Monday. Co-founder Bill Attea, a former Illinois superintendent, said the firm, which began its work in 1987, concentrates almost entirely on education leadership and has worked with systems from San Francisco to Nashville, Tenn.
Attea said he felt the firm could get its work done in three to four months. Marvin Edwards, a former Illinois superintendent of the year who has also led school systems in Dallas and Topeka, Kan., will lead the search.
Four firms bid for Atlanta's search, a number that disappointed some board members. System officials said three of the four firms were invited to make oral presentations to the board, but one declined. The fourth firm did not make the cut. Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates and a second firm, Ray and Associates Inc., were the top two in the bidding process and scored within a point of each other. Both firms gave Monday presentations.
Ray and Associates is also conducting a superintendent's search in neighboring DeKalb County, which president Gary Ray said was nearing an end.
Officials said they had no indication why additional firms did not bid, though they noted a process that typically takes 90 days was done, in this instance, within two weeks.
City schools Superintendent Beverly Hall will step down June 30 after 12 years on the job. Her replacement will likely receive a tumultuous welcome.
State and federal investigators continue to examine evidence of widespread test tampering in Atlanta schools. School board members, meanwhile, are trying to win back full accreditation. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools put the district on probation in January because of infighting among board members and gave the board a Sept. 30 deadline to right itself.
The SACS issued the board a formal mandate to be transparent and open to public input in its superintendent search, and informally recommended that board members have outside help to do it.
Attea said his firm will meet with Atlanta Public Schools employees, parents, business leaders and other community members to compile a public profile to help guide the search. The firm is also expected to help the board find interim superintendent candidates should one be needed.
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