CCISD trustees move forward with superintendent search timetable

By LYNETTE SOWELL 

Cove Leader-Press 

On Monday afternoon, the Copperas Cove Independent School District board of trustees held a special meeting during which they discussed the timetable for hiring a new superintendent of schools. 

Along with that, there was discussion about the attributes that were the most important to them in a new superintendent. 

The board has hired the Texas Association of School Boards’ Executive Search Services to conduct the search. 

George Kazanas, Executive Search and Field Services Officer, and Marian Strauss, Seniori Consultant, with Executive Search Services were at Monday’s meeting. 

Both have worked as superintendents in the state of Texas and explained the process of finding candidates from which the board can select a new superintendent. 

On Monday, they began discussions of those attributes as already noted by the board. 

Key traits identified by the board included human relations and communications, honesty and ethical behavior, visibility and accessibility, and experience in school finance. The board emphasized the need for a candidate who understands community values and educational philosophies. Specific requirements such as a PhD were discussed, with a preference for candidates with PhDs, but an openness to exceptional candidates without one. The discussion also covered the importance of innovation, staff retention, and community engagement, with plans to gather more community input through town hall meetings.

As far as community involvement in the process goes, TASB has launched a community survey with a similar theme – attributes of a superintendent. The survey can be accessed via a direct link at https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7970367/Copperas-Cove-ISD-2024-Leadership...

The survey is called a “Leadership Profile Questionnaire.”

As of early Monday afternoon, a total of 215 had completed the survey, said Strauss. 

Trustee John Gallen asked about the public townhalls to be held prior to the superintendent selection.

It was decided there would be two townhall meetings, one during a noontime hour, and one to be held during the evening hours, at 6 p.m. Those dates have not yet been determined. 

Kazanas and Strauss recommended that board members not be at those meetings. 

However, the two of them will be conducting the townhall meetings to gather information from the community. 

Likewise, the firm is also seeing to the candidate application process and will be accepting applications through Nov. 7. In addition to submitting d ocuments for the application, candidates for superintendent also have the option to submit up to a three-minute video.  

The goal for the board is to schedule initial interviews during the first week of December, with follow-up interviews the following week. Consideration will also be given to provide a tour of the community for the candidate and their family during the follow-up interview process.

The end goal is to have a special meeting in the Dec. 17 timeframe to finalize a lone candidate. 

In addition to the townhall meetings, Kazanas and Strauss will be back in Copperas Cove in November for the selection process, during which board members will go through the collected applications and begin evaluation. 

When it comes to a site visit by board members, no more than three members will pay a visit to the top candidate – or candidates’ – communities. 

One of the reasons the interview process and naming any candidates is kept private, is due to the candidates themselves who may not wish to alert their current school districts they are exploring another job opportunity elsewhere.