Three firms vie for superintendent search duties

A Red Wing School Board subcommittee is expected to decide Tuesday whether it will recommend hiring outside help in landing the district's next superintendent.

The district's Personnel Committee on Thursday interviewed three candidates for the job, which the board said it hopes to fill by February. Supt. Stan Slessor announced last month he will be retiring from the district in June 2011.

The candidates represented two familiar faces to the district - one, the man who helped find Slessor in 2004, the other, a former interim Red Wing superintendent. The third candidate is the Minnesota School Boards Association, with which the district works closely on numerous issues and policies.

"We went with a little bit of that local feel and experience," said School Board Chairwoman Heidi Jones, who sits on the Personnel Committee.

All three firms presented plans to search for, screen and narrow the field of candidates.

The lowest baseline bid came from the search firm ADM, represented by former Red Wing interim Supt. Rosemary Schneiderhan and Keith Klein. Their proposal called for $6,000 fee, plus expenses not to exceed $1,500.

MSBA presented the next-lowest bid at $6,900, though that figure was for what consultants there termed a "basic search." An "advanced search" would cost the district $11,250.

Hastings-based consultant Ken LaCroix offered the highest baseline bid of $7,800, with additional expenses estimated at $600.

The committee interviewed ADM at greatest length. Like MSBA, ADM also offers a cafeteria-style option, where the district could purchase separate services at a lower cost if it prefers.

ADM and LaCroix both submitted timelines that generally followed the district's February hiring deadline. MSBA consultants said they would establish a timeline after being hired.

Of the three, MSBA consultants said they would cast the widest net, tapping all Minnesota superintendents in addition to a nationwide announcement through sister school board associations.

If the district were to hire MSBA, however, it would represent the first superintendent search the organization has done. Consultant Sandy Gundlach said the organization began its superintendent search service in October.

Though three firms were interviewed, the board also considered a fourth offer, which Jones said was a last-minute proposal. Committee members roundly dismissed that offer - from a national firm - after seeing its price tag: $17,500, plus $2,800 in expenses.

Jones said the committee plans to present its recommendation to the full board at its Nov. 15 meeting.

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