Stamford schools to start selection of search firm

STAMFORD -- A Board of Education subcommittee will meet Wednesday to narrow down the pool of firms vying for the opportunity to help find Superintendent Winifred Hamilton's successor.

"We're going to try to whittle it down to three," Heftman said Tuesday. "We are still on track," she said when asked about the search timeline.

Hamilton announced her intention to retire in May, amidst disciplinary decisions following an investigation into a high school teacher's sexual misconduct with a student. Hamilton has announced that her last day on the job will be Dec. 31.

The board accepted Hamilton's resignation at last week's meeting.

With five seats on the nine-member board up for election in November - and with only one incumbent, Rauh, seeking re-election - the superintendent selection has come under scrutiny. Speaking at last week's meeting of the Board of Education, Heftman and Rauh both said they want the final decision be made by the new board, after elections.

"I think the last thing you want is to have someone selected by the old board and then have potential turnover of half the board," Rauh said.

"I agree with you," Heftman responded.

But they both agreed that choosing a search firm needs to get done, to complete what Heftman termed "the process work" in advance of a final decision.

Rauh concurred.

"They have to come into the district, put together a brochure, get the advertising going, and they can do the many focus groups," Rauh said of selecting a firm before a new board is seated in December.

Olson, speaking by phone on Tuesday, agreed that the board should push forward on hiring a search firm to hasten the collection of community input.

"Every different constituent (group) out there is interviewed," she said of the focus-group process, in which a search firm constructs a profile of a district's ideal candidate. "That takes time."

Olson said that she would be considering the cost, reputation, and success rate of the firms that have responded to the district, as well as the scope of the search they propose.

"What I've been hearing from the community is that they really want a national search," Olson said.

After the list of potential firms is narrowed down, the Board of Education as a whole will vote on which firm to hire.