Evergreen School District Board Vice-President Victoria Bradford and President Julie Bocanegra meet with their fellow board members at the Evergreen School District offices in Vancouver in early March. (Alisha Jucevic/The Columbian files)
With John Steach’s resignation from Evergreen Public Schools, the county’s largest district and third largest employer could soon be looking for a new superintendent.
Mike Merlino, chief operating officer, will manage the 26,000-student district in the interim. But whether he remains in that position, the district promotes from within or hires an outside search firm is up in the air.
District spokeswoman Gail Spolar said the school board will wait until after Rachael Rogers, Clark County senior deputy prosecuting attorney and new school board director, is sworn in March 12 to have that conversation. Sitting school board directors reached for comment did not say one way or the other whether they were leaning toward an internal hire or contracting with an outside firm.
“Right now, we are focused on the budget and will have that discussion in the near future,” board Vice President Victoria Bradford said by text. “We have total confidence in Mike (Merlino) for the time being.”
Going through an independent search firm is no small task. It can cost school districts thousands of dollars and take months to find the right candidate. The Washougal School District hired Northwest Leadership Associates in 2018 at a cost of $13,800 for a national search to find Superintendent Mary Templeton. The Hockinson School District hired the same firm for its superintendent search but declined to provide details of the contract Friday. Four candidates, all from Washington, will interview for the position Monday.
Lora Wolff is a professor of educational leadership at Western Illinois University. She organizes a job fair for superintendents at the School Superintendents Association’s annual, nationwide conference.
Wolff said it’s typical for larger districts — those with more than 5,000 students — to go out for nationwide or regional searches, rather than relying on their school boards to conduct searches.
“The advantage of using a search firm is they have a broad network,” Wolff said. “They know a lot of people and can pull in candidates to apply for those positions that they feel would be a good fit.”
Clark County’s largest districts have opted to promote from within for superintendents in recent years. Steach was hired at Evergreen as its deputy superintendent in 2014 and was promoted to the top job in 2017 when Superintendent John Deeder retired.
“You have had a three-year job interview with us,” Bradford told Steach at the time.
Battle Ground Public Schools Superintendent Mark Ross was previously the 13,500-student district’s assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, but was promoted to the top job after Superintendent Mark Hottowe retired in 2017.
Vancouver Public Schools, meanwhile, has opted for a blended approach. The board did a national search for a deputy superintendent in the 2005-2006 school year, seeking someone who could take the top job when Superintendent John Erickson retired. Steve Webb was hired, and two years later, promoted to lead the 24,000-student district.
“The leadership transition process was planned and intentional,” Vancouver Public Schools chief of staff Tom Hagley said.
The Washington State School Directors’ Association website lists 13 districts in the state as seeking superintendents with enrollments ranging from 128 to 19,850. Of those, seven are working internally or with the local educational service district to recruit a new superintendent. Six are working with outside consultants.
Washington Association of School Administrators Executive Director Joel Aune described the superintendent selection process as “very individual to the district.” School boards in districts planning to seek construction bonds, for example, may recruit superintendents who have recently worked in districts that have successfully approved bonds, he said.
In any case, selecting a superintendent is the most important decision a school board can make, Aune said, so paying an expert is often worth the cost.
“That’s a high-stakes decision,” Aune said. “It sets the tone for the next five to 10 years. If you get it right, it’s a really good thing for kids. If you miss, then it’s not so good. I think it’s money well spent in terms of having someone come in.”
Columbian reporter Adam Littman contributed to this report.
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