Holmdel BOE’s Superintendent Search Draws Criticism

HOLMDEL, NJ — The Holmdel Township School District Board of Education hired consulting firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) to find a new superintendent, raising some concerns from candidates running for a seat on the board.

The company, which specializes in identifying and recruiting executive-level educational leaders, has been criticized by multiple school boards in other parts of the country.

Board of Education candidates Surekha Collur, Kimberly Tuccillo and Weiping Wang posted on social media some of these instances. In one school district in Florida, for example, Indian River County school board members said that hiring the firm was a flop that cost the district $50,000, according to VeroNews.com.

Board Chairman Laura Zorc told the publication in 2019 that the firm's “presentations to the board have been sloppy and disorganized."

In another instance In 2005, a new superintendent of Flint City Schools, in Michigan, was hired with the help of HYA, according to Nation Of Change. MLive.com reported that early in his tenure questions arose about degrees he had listed online which were found to be untrue.

“There are numerous incidents where HYA did not properly investigate candidates. I think the board should take its time and investigate some of these allegations before voting to hire HYA," Indian River County School Board member Jacqueline Rosario said in a meeting before the company was hired, according to VeroNews.com.

A Holmdel Board of Education spokesperson said that many New Jersey school districts had provided good references about HYA and that the board was confident in the firm's ability to provide a good service. The firm will be paid $19,500.

"The Board remains very comfortable with its decision to retain the HYA based on the firm’s 30-year track record of success, the references it provided (including many NJ school districts), its experience with executive searches (over 1,500), and the performance of HYA’s representatives during the interview process," Tim White told Patch.

White also said that in the Indian River County case, the board member that was upset about the search changed that opinion and ultimately made a public comment about being pleased with the search services of HYA.

According to the spokesperson, several firms were considered by Holmdel Board of Education leadership and some of them said they were unable to perform the search. In the end, two were considered and interviewed in person at a meeting in September.

A proposal from the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) was also circulated in July to the board, but ultimately there was no majority support to proceed with NJSBA.

The Holmdel School Board said that they want the community to be involved in the hiring process and have put out a survey encouraging people to share their input about the ideal candidate profile for the job.

"It is our intention to manage this endeavor in the most transparent way possible and as such, we look forward to robust community involvement in the engagement phase of the search process," Holmdel School Board president Vicky Flynn said in a statement sent out this week. "It is our intent to keep the community engaged through updates on the district website and the community information avenues that are currently in place.”

A post is already live on HYA's website listing the superintendent job with a $225,000 salary. According to the spokesperson, that is not an official job posting but an “initial announcement intended to advertise a successor superintendent in Holmdel."

"Board members are looking for an innovative leader to recognize and continue the great work that is currently happening while leading the district into the post-pandemic era and commit to the process of continual improvement," the listing reads.

It says that "desired leadership characteristics and qualifications" will only be added around Nov. 1 and that the deadline to apply will be Nov. 17.

"The Board feels that the November 17th deadline for applications is both appropriate and consistent with its timeframe to complete the search and selection process," the spokesperson said. "The Board, along with the leadership of the local teachers union and members of the community, have expressed a desire to have a successor Superintendent in place early in 2022."

According to the Holmdel Board of Education, HYA's search process will have four stages: engagement, recruitment, selection and transition.

The engagement phase will consist of designing and planning a process of engaging the board and stakeholders through interviews, online surveys and focus groups, according to the statement.

Current interim superintendent Lee Seitz was appointed last year shortly after Robert McGarry resigned from the post in May 2020.