The Montgomery County school board has hired the same firm to find its retiring superintendent’s replacement as it used 11 years ago. But Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates is also the same firm that chose a candidate, mired in personal bankruptcy, who set Montgomery schools back when Superintendent Paul Vance was forced to stay on past his retirement date and HYA hurried to find a suitable runner-up: Jerry Weast, who will retire in June 2011.
Elfreda Massie was the deputy superintendent in Baltimore County when the Illinois firm presented her to the school board in 1999. Shortly after the board named Massie the official nominee, she disclosed that she and her husband had filed for bankruptcy twice, at least once within the year.
Massie resigned her nomination in a statement: “The recent attention given to my personal financial situation has taken the focus away from where it must be — namely, on the many issues being faced by the Montgomery County Public School system.”
Reginald Felton, then the school board president, said the board directed HYA to find a new crop, and to “strengthen the background and financial review of potential candidates.”
School board member Patricia O’Neill, who has served on the board since 1998, said she did not blame HYA for the debacle. “[Massie] did not disclose,” she said. “[HYA] brought us a full slate of candidates the first time when we were going in the direction of Elfreda Massie, and they brought us a large slate of candidates the second time. It is important to note that any search firm only brings you the candidates; it’s the Board of Education that selects and hires the superintendent.”
Board President Christopher Barclay said at a recent meeting that a “rigorous” background check will await all candidates, and that HYA will provide “access to a wide range of diverse candidates.”
The board selected HYA after interviewing six firms on Nov. 19, then voted unanimously to award a $35,000 contract. The firm has completed more than 800 searches for administrative leaders of school districts since 1987.
