Ann Arbor school board seeking firm to help in superintendent search

School board President Deb Mexicotte said the board is looking for a firm that understands the high expectations of Ann Arbor residents for their school district. She said the RFP is a reflection of those demands.

Todd Roberts is leaving the district.

“This narrative isn’t just about cost, this is our story, this is what we expect them to bring to us,” she said. “We want to have someone we can work with and respect. We’re not some run-of-the-mill, stick someone up there and hope for the best district.”

Roberts announced his resignation as superintendent on Aug. 13 to move with his family to North Carolina, where he will become chancellor of the North Carolina School of Science and Math. He is planning to stay with the Ann Arbor district through the fall while a replacement is sought.

The RFP contains a rough timeline of milestones the board hopes to reach during the process. The board plans to interview firms in mid-September and select a firm at its meeting on Sept. 29. The RFP states an interim superintendent could be selected by late October and will take over in mid-November. A permanent selection is to be made in May 2011, and the new superintendent would take over on July 1, 2011 if all goes according to plan.

Board members said they haven't officially decided to hire an interim superintendent, but are leaning that way.

School board Treasurer Christine Stead was the main architect of the RFP and said the timeline should serve as the first litmus test for firms. However, the timeline is not concrete and can be adjusted based on the successful firm’s recommendations.

“We’re looking for assistance, and we’re looking for it in a particular way,” she said.

Mexicotte said the “ballpark” estimate on the final contract with a professional services firm could be $20,000 to $35,000, but the board will pay attention to the market for those services. When the district hired Roberts four years ago, it spent just under $14,000 on a professional services firm, she said.

Trustee Susan Baskett said the most important issue in hiring a firm will not be price, but is getting the right firm for the job.

“(The price of the contract) depends on the firm and depends on the contract,” she said. “But the price of not doing it right will be enormous.”

The RFP focuses on many of the district’s achievements during Roberts’ tenure, such as the collaborative effort by all facets of the district to improve. His name is used sparingly in the document.

Roberts was fairly quiet during the meeting, only suggesting minor changes in language or different ideas. He told the board to keep in mind any firm’s capability to perform a national search for the position.

A firm’s ability to pull together a diverse set of candidates will also be one of the things stressed by the board. Trustee Simone Lightfoot made a point to add several clauses into the RFP to make that expectation clear.

“I’m looking for the word ‘diverse’ to be throughout the document,” she said.

Dave Comsa, the assistant superintendent for human resources and legal services, will look over the final copy of the document in the coming days. A pre-bid meeting is expected to take place at 10 a.m. Sept. 3 for firms interested in bidding on the job to ask questions of Baskett, Mexicotte and board Secretary Glenn Nelson.

Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or 734-623-2537.