School Board Takes Next Step Toward Finding New Superintendent
Jan. 28, 2020
The Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) Board of Education voted unanimously on Monday evening to hire Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) to spearhead the school district’s search for a new superintendent.
HYA is a national education consulting firm based in Schaumberg, Illinois. The firm was one of three entities – along with Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) and Ray and Associates, Inc. –the board voted to interview at their meeting two weeks ago.
A “Board Search Firm Interview Task Force” – made up of Interim Superintendent Jim Pavelka and board members Pam Forton, Erica Moon Mohr, and Benjamin McGuire – interviewed representatives from all three search firms last Thursday, January 23. Pavelka said at Monday’s meeting that the four task force members quickly reached a consensus that HYA would best fit the school district’s needs.
Forton said that the deciding factor in favor of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates was the firm’s balance between national presence and in-state focus. “The fact that they were a national firm, I thought their reach would be a little bit larger, but they also had a really strong Michigan presence,” she said. Forton also noted that the two consultants who would be leading the TCAPS superintendent search for HYA were Michigan superintendents themselves: one a former 25-year superintendent of East Grand Rapids schools, the other a current superintendent working in Ypsilanti.
TCAPS will now conduct reference checks to ensure that HYA is a suitable hire. Barring any unexpected findings, the district will begin work with the firm on what is expected to be a 12-16-week search for a new superintendent. HYA’s quoted price for the service is $21,500, plus potential extra costs for travel, candidate background checks, and more.
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