School board launches new superintendent search this week

The search is on to find a new school superintendent for Sisters -- and the Sisters School Board is taking a new approach.

"We decided to use a professional consulting firm this time," board chair Glen Lasken told The Nugget.

Cascade Consulting Group, a specialist executive search service, will conduct the search instead of the board handling that duty as it has in the past with assistance from the Oregon School Boards Association.

The board has had a streak of bad luck in filling the superintendent's post after the departure of Steve Swisher a year ago. Twice the board agreed on a successor to Swisher, only to see the appointments fall apart at the last minute.

Doug Jantzi of Central Point pulled out at the very end of the search and Charles Hellman of Rogue River withdrew in a dispute over contract terms after accepting the appointment.

Last month, interim Superintendent Dr. Lynn Baker announced that he will leave the district after his interim contract expires in June.

Lasken is confident that the new search will turn up a good pool of qualified candidates. Part of that confidence stems from the board's favorable impression of Lee Pasquarella, the President of the Bend-based Cascade Consulting Group.

Paquarella's firm has a 14-year track record of finding top executives for Pacific Northwest school districts.

Lasken said the board also likes the process, which allows candidates to be recruited confidentially.

Lasken believes that confidentiality will provide Sisters with "a different and probably broader pool of candidates" than a traditional search.

The district may also benefit from the fact that Cascade Consulting Group is also conducting a search for a superintendent for the Redmond School District.

That circumstance creates a pool of candidates who already have a confirmed interest in coming to Central Oregon.

"In some respects we have a head start by hiring this consultant," Lasken said.

A head start is needed. The board hopes to fill the superintendent's chair by July 1 -- certainly no later than August 1. That's a short time frame for a search.

And whoever is hired must jump right in to face serious challenges as the district cuts budgets to make up for a shortfall that could range from $400,000 to more than $600,000.

"The new superintendent will immediately be faced with difficult budget decisions," Lasken said.

With that in mind, the board is looking for candidates with budget expertise, leadership qualities and an ability to impart a sense of stability in a district that has not had stable leadership at the top for a couple of years.

Lasken said the board definitely wants a superintendent with district-wide experience -- either a current superintendent or perhaps an assistant superintendent or curriculum director from a large district.

Lasken acknowledged that there is limited public involvement in this process.

"Primarily the public will be involved when we get down to the final two candidates," he said.

However, Lasken noted, the public was deeply involved in creating selection criteria when the search for Swisher's successor began -- and those criteria are still being used.

Lasken also acknowledged that the school board may have a reputation in Oregon as being difficult to work with, since the board has taken an unusually active role in the construction of the new high school and has also been sharply divided on many high-profile votes.

But the board chair downplayed any negative impact from that reputation.

"Some school boards are much more easily managed than others from the standpoint of a superintendent," he said. "The Sisters School Board is not one that's going to just show up and be led."

However, Lasken said, a board that wrestles over issues and is not always unanimous may be a better board.

"The fact that we don't agree on everything probably serves the public interest," he said.

Lasken is confident that the reputation of the schools and the charm of the community will help Cascade Consulting Group find strong candidates.

"The school district and the community have so much to offer, I think we'll get a broad pool of candidates," he said.