The Alexandria School Board announced Tuesday that it selected a new firm to conduct the search for a superintendent after issuing a terse statement last week that it was ending its deal with consulting firm Ray and Associates.
“The School Board is committed to finding a highly qualified, superior candidate for the position of Alexandria’s superintendent, and we will not compromise those high standards,” Board Chairwoman Claire Eberwein said in the Tuesday statement.
“While we have interviewed several fine candidates, we are looking for someonewho is absolutely best able to meet the unique and diverse needs of our students and the Alexandria community. The search will continue until we find such a candidate.”
The board hired Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates to continue the search, citing the superintendent experience of the firm’s principals and the company’s success in finding a new executive director for the American Association of School Administrators, based in Arlington.
Previous Superintendent Rebecca Perry resigned in January after a controversial tenure. A fractured board had voted in May not to renew her contract.
The board had hired Ray and Associates to conduct the search for a new schools chief and accepted applications through Feb. 19.
In March, the board narrowed the pool of 65 applicants to three, selecting as finalists Michael Glascoe, state superintendent of Paterson Public Schools in New Jersey; Scott Kizner, superintendent of Martinsville Public Schools in Martinsville, Va.; and Eric Williams, assistant superintendent of Collier County Public Schools in Naples, Fla.
School Board members and representatives from the Superintendent Search Advisory Committee conducted site visits for all three candidates.
Schools officials have declined to elaborate on the decision to terminate the Ray and Associates contract, but advisory committee member Bill Campbell said the board, which has been openly and sharply divided over several issues, unanimously agreed to make the move.
“I think it wasn’t handled well from a PR standpoint,” Campbell said. “At the same time, I applaud that after they spent more time on the three candidates, and did the site visits, they grew unanimous that Alexandria deserved better.”
