MLSD moves forward with search for a superintendent

The Moses Lake School District Board of Directors on Thursday heard an update from Bill Jordan regarding the district’s ongoing search for a superintendent.

Jordan is an associate with Northwest Leadership Associates, the district’s consultation firm hired in December to help identify candidates for the top job at MLSD.

“We need to find someone, a good leader with good communication skills that will lead people and will do so honestly,” said Moses Lake School Board President Kevin Fuhr, who also serves as chief of police for the city of Moses Lake.

Those sentiments have been echoed by Moses Lake residents and board members since the exit of former MLSD superintendent Josh Meek in August. Meek’s contract was set to run through the end of June 2023, but issues associated with irregularities in Meek’s compensation led to an investigation that ultimately resulted in Meek leaving the district. Subsequently, an agreement with Northwest Leadership Associates was reached in December and an initial job description was drafted by the firm and reviewed at Thursday’s meeting.

“We have to have, ‘provide responsible and transparent financial management of the district’s resources.’ We have to have somebody who has a track record of being financially responsible, not only in the leadership of a school but also in their own personal life that carries over,” said board co-chair Shannon Hintz.

Trustees asked for a variety of changes to the draft job description. Included in those suggestions was for applicants to include specific examples of maintaining a quality relationship with the public through open communication and integrity. Throughout the meeting, board members alluded to integrity being one of the highest priorities throughout the search for a new administrator for the district.

Board members also asked it be a requirement that the superintendent, like board members, reside within the physical boundaries of MLSD. Having a leader who is part of the community was important, though board members also understood it would be important to allow the chosen applicant time to relocate.

“(Jordan) could put in (the job description) something like, ‘would live within the district within six months of employment’ or something like that,” Fuhr said.

Additional qualifications included a demonstrated history of improving educator development, student outcomes, graduation rates and preparing students for the real world after high school. Strong communication skills with all community members, including the Hispanic population of MLSD, were also a big ask from the board.

“And we need a leader that has proven. In my eyes and experience, we need to find a leader that has proven that – that’s not going to come here and tell us that they can do it. I’d like to see a leader that has done it because that is what has gotten this district in so much trouble in the last five years is the communication piece,” Fuhr said.

Jordan, who mostly asked for clarifications for the board’s input on the job description, said he would work with the board to finalize the description and expected it would be posted by close of business on Friday. The description integrates results from a community survey that was put out by the district, as well as input from the school board and district administration, he said. Once posted, the job will appear at https://bit.ly/NLAPostings. Jordan said multiple candidates have already reached out to him directly regarding the MLSD superintendent position, but he needed the finalized job description to provide to them to make sure it was a good fit for those candidates.

“In fact, I got a call today from a superintendent that’s interested,” Jordan said.

Initial screening of applications is expected to be finished by March 2, Jordan said. After that, initial interviews should occur on March 8 and 9. Screening will be conducted by board members, he said.

“We bring you the applications. We do the background check and you decide who you want to see after you’ve read everything,” Jordan said.