RANCHO SANTA FE — The Rancho Santa Fe School District held a special meeting focusing on their new superintendent search. Board of trustees in attendance included President Tyler Seltzer, Vice-President Todd Frank, and Clerk Marti Ritto. Also there was superintendent Lindy Delaney, the District’s attorney Richard Currier and consultant Dr. Peggy Lynch of Leadership Associates.
Seltzer moved to approve the continuation of Leadership Associates and the board agreed. Leadership Associates will help search for a new superintendent for the RSF School District. Duties for Leadership Associates include but are not limited to collecting and reviewing resumes, assisting the board in their selection process and advertising the position. Lynch will work alongside with Delaney and Currier.
According to Lynch, the advertising will begin in April with a prospective closing date of April 29. Lynch told the board the advertisement will be listed on the Association of California School Administrators and American Association of School Administrators.
Lynch explained that when the applications start to come in, they will review them in tandem with reference checking. Looking ahead, Lynch shared the importance of applicant confidentiality in the early stages.
Leadership Associates said they wanted to feel assured that they could guarantee to candidates confidentiality with the whole board in closed session. Before the closed session would occur, she said, the board would pick who they would like to interview.
Lynch wanted to ensure that they don’t lose candidates early on in the process and that was why the discretion was so vital.
“They (candidates) can’t risk their own job because only one person is going to get this job, right?” Lynch added, “We feel very strongly the best way to do it is to have the whole board together in closed session. We will recommend people that we think are good matches based on everything we’ve heard.”
Currier said that he already expressed his views on the process in terms of the application screening and finalists.
“In my view over the years is that the board has a right to see everyone who’s applied,” he said.
As far as the paper screening, depending on the application numbers received, that may take a while. With that said, Currier went on to point out that he thought the board was very well protected by having someone do the initial screening and for them to be privy to all the applicants.
He also agreed with Lynch in terms of confidentiality.
“There are going to be people who apply who just do not want to have their names get out until they’re finalists,” Currier said. “And then all the bets are off.”
Circling back, Currier said he thought the board was protected as long as they could see every application that they wanted and reasons as to why certain applicants were not being recommended as finalists.
“When the paper screening goes on, none of you need to be there,” Currier told the board. “But when you meet as a board to discuss and get recommendations on who the finalists are, you all should be there. At that closed session, you would also have available the applications of all those people who filed applications.”
Currier reiterated to the board that was his advice.