Board reviews vacancy brochure and public-input plan for superintendent search

Board members spent a substantive portion of the March 6 special meeting refining the vacancy brochure and public-input approach for the superintendent search.

Amy Jordan presented a draft three-page brochure that would accompany the job posting: an introductory page with "points of pride," the district's strategic-plan summary, and the leadership profile derived from the board's hiring-criteria survey. Members suggested minor edits to wording, parallel structure, and local anchors (adding Saint Olaf and Carleton colleges), and Jordan agreed to circulate a final version by email for last edits before posting.

Survey categories and outreach The board reviewed a draft public input survey (available in English and Spanish) and debated respondent-category labels such as "community member," "business owner," "district partner" and "agriculture/farming." Members agreed to include separate lines (rather than an aggregated "district partner" label) so the results can be disaggregated when Jordan delivers the survey report.

Application questions The board selected two supplemental questions (in addition to a leadership-profile fit question that will be required of all applicants): a question about strategies and initiatives to promote collaboration among schools, families and community partners (Question 2), and a question asking candidates to describe a time they modeled and upheld district values and policies (Question 6). Jordan said those responses will help MSBA and the board narrow the applicant pool prior to round-one interviews.

Context and next steps Board members emphasized clarity and readability in the brochure because the posting will be public-facing and visible to both candidates and community members. Jordan will finalize brochure copy, post the vacancy and the survey on March 10, and provide the board with survey results and interview-training materials before the board meets to select finalists.