Superintendent Search
Dear Members of the Rye Neck Community,
We are pleased to share with you the work that has begun to recruit a new superintendent of schools to the district.
The Board is committed to a search process that is professionally organized and transparent. To that end, we have promised regular updates on our work and the community’s contributions to the search process; thus, residents can expect regular communiques like this over the next few months.
We began the work in recent weeks by exercising a preliminary screening interview with three prospective search firms that have worked extensively with school districts in southern Westchester. From there, we instructed the firms to submit formal proposals, which were reviewed by the Board. Subsequently, we conducted in-person interviews and utilized a set of common questions for each firm.
The Board then settled unanimously on its preference and continued the process by performing reference checks with four districts like Rye Neck that had used our candidate firm’s services. All reference checks were very positive. Additionally, our review of costs associated with the search placed our preferred firm in the middle of the range, with the possibility of lowering costs further through an arrangement with BOCES.
Therefore, we are pleased to announce that the district will use School Leadership, LLC for its search. A contract with the firm has been approved by board resolution, with a professional fee not to exceed $35,000. We encourage our community members to explore the firm’s website to review their personnel, qualifications, and vast experience throughout New York.
Two individuals at School Leadership will lead the search: Susan Wollin, former president of Bedford CSD, former president of Westchester Putnam School Boards Association, and a professional executive search consultant for corporations, and Dr. Kenneth Mitchell, former superintendent (retired) of South Orangetown CSD (Rockland, NY) and current Associate Professor at Manhattanville College for the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership.
The first course of action after the firm is appointed will be to jointly develop the plan of action for this search, with the expectation that a new superintendent will begin working in the district on July 1. In the early stage of the plan our community will be engaged with a survey to identify the leadership qualities it believes are important for prospective candidates to the Rye Neck UFSD superintendency. Our consultants will also conduct focus groups with key stakeholders in the community, including teachers, administrators, students, parents and community members.
We thank the Rye Neck community for taking an active interest in this search and strongly encourage you to share your thoughts through the structured processes led by our new consultants. Best wishes for a safe, healthy, and productive new year!
Rye Neck Board of Education