The Bulloch County Board of Education is starting a search, assisted by the Georgia School Boards Association, that could result in a new superintendent of schools being hired, probably not by the time Superintendent Charles Wilson's retirement takes effect March 31, but possibly by May.
The GSBA's Superintendent Search Services and Board Development Director Samuel King and Senior Board Development Specialist Donna Hinton gave a detailed presentation on the association's search process for the Bulloch County board during its Nov. 20 regular "work session" meeting. The board then voted to start the search with the GSBA's help, particularly after hearing the search contract price.
"I know my colleagues want and it's my responsibility to find out cost, because we want to promptly take action, and I was asked to check out another service also," Bulloch County BOE Chair Elizabeth Williams said near the end of the one-hour presentation. "So, is it fair, is it appropriate to ask the cost of the service now so we can decide whether to move forward?"
"The cost is $8,000 for this, because you are a member of the association, so it is minimal," King replied. "However, some other miscellaneous costs could center on … if you interview individuals from out of state."
For such candidates from farther away, the board would need to decide whether to reimburse them for round-trip travel or only for one night's lodging, he explained. But the GSBA search contract cost, King repeated, will be $8,000.
Williams asked if the other board members were ready to make a motion to proceed, or if they wanted to check into other options.
District 8 member Maurice Hill offered a motion to "proceed with the Georgia School Boards Association, as presented." District 6 member Jimmy "Jay" Cook seconded, and the show of hands was unanimous, with all eight members present.
Fraction of BOC's cost
No estimates from search firms or other agencies were cited during the public meeting. But school board members were probably aware that the other elected Bulloch County board, the Board of Commissioners, recently paid a professional recruiting firm $26,500 for the search for a new county manager. That search concluded with the hiring of County Manager Chris Eldridge in September.
Before the commissioners initiated their search in March, other firms had asked $25,000 to $45,000 for searches of various lengths with or without guarantees or for commission-type fees of 20% or 25% of a county manager's first-year salary.
Draft timeline
King and Hinton, both retired county-district Georgia school superintendents with doctorates in education or educational leadership, are representatives of a larger GSBA superintendent search team. Near the end of the GSBA's standard slide show about the assistance it provides local boards for searches, a draft timeline specific to Bulloch County was tacked in, visible in the boardroom and by livestreaming that night and on the archive video, but not in the original packet.
King repeatedly emphasized that it could be changed, depending on how soon the board completes certain steps and the response from applicants.
"This is a draft, just to give you an idea. It could change," he told the board.
But Williams expressed the board's desire "to promptly take action," and the board's vote fulfilled the first date on the timeline, since Nov. 20, 2025, was designated for "Board action needed" to initiate the search.
Board member survey
So this month, December, the board members, individually, are slated to complete a GSBA-provided, "research-based" survey on what qualifications they want to see in the next Bulloch County superintendent of schools.
Based on an analysis of the survey results, the GSBA team will work with the board to draft criteria, possibly in December and then January, for the job announcement. The final job announcement could be approved by the board in January, the draft timeline suggests.
An online community input survey could also be posted in January, but this is not a requirement, only an option if the board wants to do one. It could be directed to "stakeholder groups."
When the board approves the announcement, whether in January or possibly early February, it would be posted to the GSBA website and advertised in various other state and national venues.
National reach
The GSBA is one of 39 state school board associations partnered in the National Affiliation of Superintendent Searches, or NASS. So the national advertising for the Bulloch County position will include an Education Week listing, and the online TopSchoolJobs.org, with more than 200,000 subscribers. It should also go out through the NASS database, the AASA School Superintendents Association, K12JobSpot.com, and national job boards.
In-state, planned placements include the TeachGeorgia website, the Georgia School Superintendents Association and GSBA websites, all 180 Georgia school districts' superintendents and board chairs and Georgia colleges and universities.
If the draft timeline date of Feb. 22 for the close of applications is followed, the GSBA team could deliver applications to the board in closed, "executive" session the week of March 9. The board would receive all completed applications, but ranked by a GSBA review panel into four groups, ranging from Group 1, those judged based on the scoring rubric to best meet the goals and expectations, down to Group 4, not appearing to meet basic qualifications. The board would then schedule a first round of closed-session interviews with selected candidates, then a second round and possibly a third.
King also talked to the board about the "very extensive background checks" the GSBA team performs, including reference calls and legal background and social media checks. Results on finalists would be supplied to GSBA and local board legal counsel, he said.
Finalist in April?
At least 14 days before a final vote to hire a superintendent, the board will need to publicly release information on at least one but "as many as three" named finalists, to comply with the Georgia Open Records Act.
"Interviews, we're anticipating y'all would want to do that through the month of March — all executive sessions — first round, second round, all of that, so it gets you to a point of being ready to announce finalists around the month of April. …," said King. "So it could get you into May for the appointment."
Professional standards
Besides the local board's wishes, the GSBA search will seek candidates whose knowledge and values meet 10 Professional Standards for Educational Leadership, or PSEL, criteria, said King and Hinton. Some of these standards are meant to reflect local priorities. The first standard is fit with "mission, vision and core values," the second looks at "ethics and professional norms." … The tenth standard is for "school improvement."
All 10 standards are used in developing "a snapshot of what you would like to see in your superintendent," Hinton told the board.
Construction and taxes
Obviously, the board will be looking for a chief executive officer for a 15-campus, 11,000-plus-student school system that could still face funding challenges after a nearly 3-mill property tax hike this year.
Construction of one new school is also a far along in the planning.
Wilson announced his retirement — but in advance for March 31 — in October, just before a large majority of Bulloch County voters approved a five-year extension of the 1% Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax in the Nov. 4 election.
Combined with money from the current five-year run of the tax, the "E-SPLOST 6" continuation is expected to make possible construction of a new 2,000-student Southeast Bulloch High School, slated for groundbreaking next summer. Overall cost projections to complete and equip the school have risen to as high as $165 million, with the board looking for options to reduce this.
Wilson has served in the Bulloch County Schools for 30 years, including more than 13 years as superintendent after 16 as chief financial officer and assistant superintendent of business services. His final-year salary is $235,600.