Minneapolis school board outlines timeline for superintendent search

The Minneapolis school board on Tuesday outlined the timeline of the search for a permanent superintendent to lead the state's third-largest school district, starting with several months gathering community input.

If all goes according to plan, the board's pick will start the role on July 1 after the conclusion of Interim Superintendent Rochelle Cox's one-year term.

Candidate recruiting won't begin until January, when five new board members, who will be elected in November, are seated.

"I'm of the belief that the people who have to work closely with the superintendent should be the ones choosing the new superintendent," said Board Chair Kim Ellison, whose term doesn't end until 2025. "[The current board members] want to set up the conditions so the next board has amazing candidates to choose from. … That'll be our focus."

The board also plans to have special meetings on the first Tuesday of each month to further discuss the search process.

By October, the board plans to solicit proposals from outside organizations that can help collect community input and offer services related to the search process. The community engagement sessions — designed to help develop a list of desired traits in a new superintendent — would be held in November and December, according to the board's timeline.

In January, the board would select an executive search process firm, finalize the candidate profile based on community feedback and start recruiting candidates.

The proposed timeline isn't set in stone, Ellison said.

"We are looking at two months of community engagement, but if we decide we need to do more, we can," she said, adding that she expects the contracted company to collect input from families in a variety of ways, including surveys, meetings and events.

The school district website will soon have a page for updates about the superintendent search, and families can expect to start hearing more about the upcoming special meetings and input events.

Still, Ellison said parents don't have to wait to contact the board.

"We want to hear from families about what they expect for our next superintendent," she said. "Start sending those ideas in."

"We don't want to lose good candidates because we're making decisions too late," she said.

A handful of parents and community members spoke during public comment on Tuesday to express frustration that a search timeline was set without input from families.

"Community is not just a component of a plan," said one commenter, Cheryl Persigehl. "It is the solution."

Board member Sharon El-Amin agreed.