By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Brandywine Community Schools Board of Education will announce Monday, Feb. 5 the hiring of a search firm for a new superintendent.
Phil Bozung, board president, said last week he expected a decision to come Monday night following presentations by Michigan Leadership Institute (MLI) and Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB). But, board members decided to consider the decision longer and make the announcement one week later at 6:30 p.m. in the Carlson Lecture Hall at Brandywine Middle/High School, prior to the bond campaign kick-off.
"I think we really need to think about what we heard tonight," said board vice president Dennis Cooper.
Board secretary Michael Shelton said he thought the group could benefit from considering the "scope of the project" and determining what services Brandywine needs to pay for.
Members from both search firms were each allotted about a half-hour to present a pitch to the board. Representing MLI was Dale P. Schreuder, regional president of southwest Michigan, who in 10 years with the company has conducted 200 searches in Michigan.
MLI offered their services for $6,000 plus expenses, which Schreuder estimated at about $100.
MASB presented Brandywine with a team approach lead by Dr. Carl C. Hartman, director of field services, and two consultants, Larry Spencer and Randy Remenap. Hartman has overseen 145 searches in 10 years with MLI. Both Spencer and Remenap have school administration experience and are adjunct faculty in that department at Grand Valley State University.
MASB charged a fee of $6,500 plus expenses.
Schreuder and Hartman both said there would be no additional charges – except traveling costs for consultants – if a superintendent was not found from the first pool of applicants and a second interview process was needed. Both also made mention of finding Brandywine a superintendent to be in place long-term.
MLI and MASB emphasized creating a clear set of criteria, or a profile, that the board wanted potential superintendent candidates to meet. Then, they said, a brochure describing the opening could be posted on numerous Web sites.
"We don't post the job until we absolutely know what it's going to entail," Schreuder, of MLI, said.
Both Schreuder and Hartman said they have an extended network among school administrators, and added hiring their firm meant access to that pool of applicants, including those that have been involved in superintendent classes offered by MLI and MASB. Bozung said after the presentations both firms have access to "pretty much the same pool", and they both advertise in some of the same places.
MLI and MASB both said Brandywine could expect to see about 30 applications, which is smaller than years past because of the demand of the job and the economic state of Michigan school funding. Spencer, of MASB, said of those 30 applicants about 10 percent to 15 percent would be minorities and the same percentage would be female applicants.
Despite a smaller applicant pool, both MLI and MASB said they expected a good applicant selection and agreed with Shelton, who said Brandywine has a lot to offer – rising test scores, good administrators, plus one bond that passed in 2003 and another hoping to go through in May.
"I think there's a number of good candidates that would like to take a look at you," Hartman said.
MLI and MASB also said those assets would come in handy when recruiting potential candidates, or, as Schreuder described it, making one on one contact with people they know that are considering a superintendent position.