District 113A Hires Superintendent Search Firm

will use the services of a professional search firm in the coming months to recruit the district's next superintendent.

The District 113A Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday night to hire the Illinois Association of School Boards, a not-for-profit, voluntary organization that provides a number of services to school board members across the state — including executive searches. Basic services will cost the district between $5,000 and $7,500.

The school board is tasked with finding a successor for current Superintendent Tim Ricker, that he will retire at the end of the current school year.

Board members agreed Tuesday night that the cost of using a search firm is worth it in the long run if they can assist the district in recruiting highly-qualified candidates.

"This is our biggest decision as a board," said Board Vice President Dave Molitor. "To have the support from professionals who do this regularly could only help us."

During a , the board heard presentations from three search firms: IASB, BWP and Associates, and Proact Search.

IASB services cost significantly less than those of the other two firms, primarily because they are subsidized by membership fees paid by more than 800 school districts that belong to the organization.

District 113A Board Member Lisa Wright, the only sitting board member to have gone through a superintendent search process, supported the decision to employ IASB services. She cited the low cost and the fact that the district has been paying IASB dues for the past several years.

"It's arduous, it's a lot of work, it's not something we want to take on (by ourselves)," Wright said of the search. "We need to employ the services of someone who is capable ... I think it makes the most sense to go with IASB."

According to IASB representatives Tom Leahy and Dawn Miller, who attended last month's meeting, the IASB was used last year by 60 percent of all Illinois school districts that hired search firms to recruit superintendents.

"We do take our work seriously, and we believe we have one of the best services available at the most economic cost," Leahy said.

Basic IASB services would cost about $5,000, Leahy said, but the cost could jump to $7,500 if the district opts to create an online survey or hold community forums.

During last week's meeting, Wright expressed concern that district is currently "behind the ball" in the search process, since the school year is well underway.

IASB representatives said they are "in the midst of the first wave" of openings, so candidates are in the process of being interviewed. However, they said District 113A should have no problem hiring someone by April or May, so long as they move quickly in getting the process started.

"You're a very attractive district," Miller said. "I would be very surprised if you did not get a large number of applicants in your search."

Although they are outsourcing search, board members have not ruled out the idea of hiring a superintendent from within the district.

"I would like to take the time as a board to talk about people within the district who are qualified that we could talk to, and still use IASB to see if they would be a good fit," Board Secretary Cindy Kelly said.

Leahy said last week that the position will be posted to the IASB website, as well as Illinois Association of School Administrators website. They will accept applicants for six to eight weeks before narrowing the field, he said.