Interviews scheduled for Nov. 28

By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
Staff Writer
OXFORD TWP. – During the regular meeting on Nov. 14, the Oxford Board of Education voted unanimously to approve the recommendation of the superintendent search firm subcommittee to invite Michigan Leadership Institute, McPherson & Jacobson LLC, and Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates to present to the board at the Nov. 28 regular meeting for interviews.
The request for proposal for a superintendent search firm had four responses. The fourth was the Michigan Association of School Boards. All of the search firms were given a score on their proposals out of 40 points. HYA scored the highest with 37 points, followed by MLI with 34 points, McPherson & Jacobson with 33 points, and MASB scored the lowest. The top three were brought to the board for consideration for interviews.
“We reviewed four applicants for companies that answered our RFP,” said board member and committee member Colleen Schultz. The committee is comprised of Schultz, Trustee Amanda McDonough and Trustee Michael Whitney. “We had a rubric, and we kind of split them up, read through the rubric, scored them and then we went through them as a group and had a discussion about how we felt they did. Three of the groups came in pretty close in score, then we took those three groups and each of us did a little investigation, contacted some references, talked to the person that would lead that group.”
Schultz presented on MLI, which was the only firm in the top three based in Michigan.
“I had a great conversation with John, he feels like timing is in our favor,” she said. “He does think we need to cast a wide net, and he’s cautiously optimistic. I also talked to the Berkley (school) board member who led the superintendent search, and they gave a glowing report. They said they were very happy with them, they were very organized, answered all their questions, answered all the community questions.”
In nearby communities, Brandon School District used MLI to search for a superintendent in early 2023.
McDonough spoke with representatives from McPherson & Jacobson, which is based out of Nebraska and have placed over 1,000 superintendents across the nation.
“We all know this process will be one of the most important decisions that we as a board make,” said McDonough. “I felt that it was imperative that the search firm that we choose understands Oxford and really what our needs are. It was through that lens that I dissected their proposal.”
Through McDonough’s investigation, she found that over a period of five years, 85% of the candidates selected through McPherson & Jacobson are still in their roles, and that there is a 40% retention rate after 15 years.
“They emphasized transparency, and when I spoke with Barry, who would be the lead if chosen, he reiterated their dedication to transparency throughout the process,” she said. “They included supportive measures that they would provide, such as establishing performance objectives for the superintendent’s first year, while explaining their protocol as tailoring to the board as well as putting a high emphasis on stakeholder involvement, which I think is very important. When I expressed my desire to have more than the standard community involvement, he agreed wholeheartedly and was very excited about that.”
Of the top three, McPherson & Jacobson was the only firm to not submit sample interview questions for potential superintendent candidates with their initial proposal, but did submit tailored questions for McDonough, when asked. They also have not yet been used for a superintendent search in Michigan.
HYA was the highest scoring firm, and they were investigated by Whitney. The firm is based out of Arlington, Ill.
“They had an extensive response to our RFP and ended up getting our best grade,” said Whitney. “They pretty much hit every one of our asks. They are an extensive international firm, they have qualified representatives across the nation, and they also post to their website the job opportunities even when they aren’t leading, so a lot of candidates look at their website.”
The potential lead for the superintendent search if HYA were chosen would be Mike Richie, who is one of the vice presidents of the company. Part of his team would also be an associate based out of Ypsilanti. The company does about 80 superintendent searches per year in the nation on average. They have been used by Clarkston Schools, Bloomfield, Birmingham and Oakland Intermediate Schools.
“I spoke with two of the board presidents that used them, and they had great things to say,” said Whitney. “And both had candidates selected from out-of-state.”
One of the points brought up both in the proposal and by references was the community engagement provided prior to the superintendent search.
“One of the women I spoke to today said they did a really good job at painting a picture of the district and what they’re looking for so they can accurately get candidates,” he said. “They also have post-appointment services, and they understand that transition period for a new superintendent is critical.”
Currently, there are at least eight schools of similar size to Oxford in Michigan looking for superintendents.
“As a subcommittee, we would recommend the top three scorers, they were pretty close.” said Schultz. “We’re going to recommend all three, and hopefully bring them here in a couple weeks and interview them as a board.”
The interviews will be conducted at the regular meeting on Nov. 28.