City school board to meet with search firms on The Murfreesboro Post

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City school board to meet with search firms

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By: MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer

Posted: Monday, August 10, 2009 1:44 pm

Murfreesboro Board of Education is moving along in its search to find a new director of schools.

AT a meeting last week, the board settled on the Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA); Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA) from Illinois; and McPherson and Jacobson from Nebraska as the top three firms to lead the search for a new director of schools.

Current Director of Schools Marilyn Mathis will retire Oct. 1 to take a new job as executive director of the Association of Independent and Municipal Schools. Mathis has served as director of MCS for 12 years and has spent 26 years working in the school system.

The school board meets Tuesday night to hear presentations and ask questions of the top three firms. Each firm will have 30 minutes to present a search plan and the board will have an hour to question the firms at the next school board meeting Tues. Aug. 11.

TSBA has extensive experience in conducting director of schools searches in Tennessee. It offers three options, ranging in price from $5,000 to $20,000. The board expressed interest in the middle option at a cost of $8,500 and involves advertising for the job regionally and conducting community interviews.

HYA most recently helped Metro-Nashville Schools to find a new director. HYA proposed a national search at a cost of $19,500 plus expenses.

McPherson and Young has conducted searches for a variety of school systems across the nation. It proposed either a regional or national search at a price of $11,500 plus expenses.

The board will meet multiple times in the next few weeks to discuss the requirements for the next director of schools and select a search firm.

Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.

Tagged under Attea and Associates, City, Hazard, Marilyn Mathis, McPherson and Jacobson, MCS, Tennessee School Board Association, Young

Member Opinions:

By: matt73557 on 8/11/09
What a shame that Murfreesboro did not look to its own local businesses to help with the search. There are reputable national search firms right here in Murfreesboro.

Hopefully my tax money will stay in Tennessee.

By: barrettbear on 8/11/09
I agree matt73557. Usually there is someone qualified that is already employeed with the city.

By: prin on 8/11/09
Information was sent to search firms for them to make a presentation. The list that was obtained by Kelly Baker, City attorney, was presented to the board and 3 were asked to make presentation to the board on Tuesday night. There has been much deliberation on which firm to employ.