"The next step is the next step" - SPS superintendent search begins

Episode 28 - March 27, 2025

See our Show Notes

Update March 27 9:42am: Thanks to a listener, who let us know that the North Shore school board search is still in progress - https://www.nsd.org/our-district/leadership/superintendent-search

[00:00:00] Christie Robertson: Welcome to Rainy Day Recess, where we study and discuss Seattle Public Schools. I'm Christie Robertson, here to recap the special school board meeting held on March 25th. This meeting was the first step of the superintendent hiring process to replace Dr. Brent Jones. 

Superintendent Jones announced his intended departure on March 17th.

[00:00:27] Brent Jones: After much reflection and heartfelt conversations, I decided to conclude my tenure as superintendent. This fall, my last day with the district will be September 3rd, 2025. My decision comes from a desire to spend more time with my family. I'm providing ample notice to ensure a smooth transition and to be respectful of our school community. 

[00:00:54] Christie Robertson: His last day, September 3rd, is the first day of the 2025/26 school year.

According to KUOW, Jones said that the stress from last fall's school closure conversations and the weight of the job itself “absolutely” played a role in his decision.

Background 

It's worth taking a step back here. Brent Jones was originally appointed as a short-term superintendent in 2021. Before him, Denise Juneau served for three years before also resigning amid controversy. We’ll link to articles in the show notes, but a number of things happened, including a No Confidence vote from the Special Education PTSA after a tragic story was published about a disabled child who was kept in a caged enclosure at View Ridge Elementary, a call for her resignation by the NAACP after she failed to produce progress towards closing the achievement gap, and her dissolution of the contract with the Urban Native Education Alliance, in combination with a school board who was increasingly unhappy with her.

When Juneau resigned, she referenced conflicts with the board and stated that, “there has never been a more important time for unity and healing. For progress to continue in Seattle, the full throated support of a united school board is essential. This school board must choose a superintendent with whom they can co-lead and move forward together.”

Seattle has averaged about three years per superintendent for the past 20 years. The national average for similar districts, at least before Covid, was 6.  

Jones told KUOW recently, “What can one person really do? How do we take the position of superintendent and not make it so mythological?”

This superintendent search is taking place amidst an environment of community mistrust and a very difficult couple of years, characterized by giant strains on the budget and multiple failed proposals for closing up to 21 schools. Along with that, there's been quite a bit of school board director contention around the performance of the superintendent. So I can only imagine that Dr. Jones's stress level is going to be going down quite a bit at this point.

An editorial in the Seattle Times called on the school board to seize this opportunity to make bold changes and some school board directors seemed to agree with this assessment.

March 25 School Board Meeting

So that brings us to the March 25th special school board meeting. The meeting was called to officially kick off the process of finding his replacement. The purpose of the school board meeting was to vote on an action item to authorize President Gina Topp to begin the request for proposals or RFPs for the process of hiring a superintendent search firm.

Proposed Timeline

The proposed timeline is very fast. 

Tuesday, March 25th was when they held this meeting to give President Topp the authority to put out an RFP. 

The proposals from firms are due April 8th, exactly two weeks away from when that first meeting happened.

The very next day after the proposals are due, the board is going to have a special meeting on April 9th to arrive at a list of finalists among all of the proposals that they receive. And the calendar also has a possible extension of this meeting to the following day, if they need it to review the proposals. 

And then just a little over a week later, there will be more special board meetings on the 17th and the 18th, to interview the search firm finalists. 

Less than a week after the interviews, they're going to vote to confirm their choice at the already scheduled very next general school board meeting on April 23rd.

Once the firm is hired, they'll help lead the search and community engagement through the spring and the summer with a goal of appointing a new superintendent to begin in September.

Board discussion

Each board director contributed to the discussion. Director Sarju was the first to raise the prospect of, "maybe this is too fast and maybe we should consider having an interim superintendent so we can do a longer search." 

[00:05:07] Michelle Sarju: First of all, we are not really leaving room for engagement. And the families in this district have not felt like we've actually been doing engagement. And so it behooves us to take that into consideration. 

[00:05:37] Christie Robertson: Director Sarju pointed out that four board seats are up for election this fall. That is a majority of the board. And she argued that the incoming directors should have a say in the hire. 

[00:05:49] Michelle Sarju: The second point is, I don't actually believe that this iteration of the board should be choosing the next superintendent. We have four seats open. Four seats. That means four new directors have to live with a decision of us short timers. That does not seem like it's in our professional best interest.

I feel pretty strongly that the next group of elected officials, given that four of them will be serving for four years, should really be in the decision-making seat. That seems prudent. It seems wise. It actually seems fair that someone like me, who's... I got a counter on my phone. I’ve got 36 weeks left. First Tuesday in December at five o'clock, I'm done. And I don't feel comfortable making that decision for the person who's going to take my place and have to live with that decision for four years. So I would like us to think about that. 

[00:07:00] Christie Robertson: Another fact that several directors noted is that this isn't the typical time for a superintendent search. Here's what Director Sarju said.

[00:07:09] Michelle Sarju: We're behind the eight-ball in terms of when, normally, districts are recruiting superintendents. For example, I believe North Shore's superintendent has been selected and they're going to start in the fall, but that started happening last year. 

[00:07:27] Christie Robertson: Director Sarju also weighed in about her experience with search firms.

[00:07:31] Michelle Sarju: I will say, I'm not excited about the search firm. 'Cause I've been there, done that, and it actually didn't work out. So I'm worried about wasting taxpayer dollars related to that. 

[00:07:42] Christie Robertson: So again, her suggestion was to appoint an interim and allow the next board to conduct a deliberate search, and to do it right.

[00:07:50] Michelle Sarju: I want the public to know, I do not support this iteration of the board making the decision on a final superintendent. I would support an interim. I think that is a reasonable way to go, given where we're at in the cycle of recruitment. 

[00:08:10] Christie Robertson: Director Brandon Hersey chimed in, and he was concerned about the rushed timeline as well. He specifically called out the quickly approaching contract negotiation with the SEA teachers union, which happens every three years.

[00:08:24] Brandon Hersey: I have serious concerns about the situation that we are asking a really strong candidate to step into. And potentially, buying some time and seeing what the legislature is going to do, getting a clear understanding of what the terms and timeline for negotiations will be. Because bringing a new Superintendent into a situation to where they need to negotiate a contract feels to me untenable. And really just setting both our education association, ourselves, and our families up for a lot of discord. Which given everything that we've already been through, does not feel like the best option. 

[00:09:03] Christie Robertson: But Director Hersey supported beginning the search and focusing on keeping their doors open.

[00:09:10] Brandon Hersey: My gut instinct would be to begin with the fledgling steps of the process that you've laid out, President Topp, but not bind ourselves to making a decision or call by any type of, like, specific date. I think we need to really ensure that whoever we find is a strong fit for both the short and long term and not be afraid for that to be two people, not be afraid for that to be one person, and not be afraid for that to be one person for the short term that could end up being the same person for the long term. I don't know, I just don't want to put us... having led us through the previous process, there were so many different permutations and restrictions that we put on ourselves that I think we need to really be unburdened by as we are trying to do a really thoughtful search. That's my 2 cents. 

[00:10:09] Christie Robertson: Director Hersey had been involved with the search for Jones back when Superintendent Juneau resigned. And at that time they appointed Jones quickly as an interim, with a promise that they would do community engagement for a permanent position. And as part of that, they promised that Jones would not be a candidate for the permanent position. And then they backtracked on that, which was another hit to community trust. So he wants to make sure that they don't make any promises like that this time. 

Director Rankin was also focused on making sure that they don't close off any avenues and don't tie their own hands. 

[00:10:55] Liza Rankin: So, I'm comfortable starting this process now, as long as we're not limiting ourselves and saying, “it has to be done by such and such,” or, “we can't have an interim.” I think we need to be ready for the possibility of learning about some great people we may not have found ourselves. Having the firm help support, making sure the process is really transparent, making sure that they're adding the capacity into our system for us to plan different engagements and whatnot, and help the process. But I would be really hesitant if we were locking ourselves into any specific endpoint or any definitive, “the choice has to be made in September or we have to start over,” or something like that. 

[00:11:37] Christie Robertson: But she wasn't worried about a big change just because four seats are up for the election, because she pointed out that the board has just done a round of vision and values engagement, and that is what the hire is going to be based on. 

[00:11:48] Liza Rankin: Our community's values are not going to dramatically change. We just did vision and values listening. And I'm not at all saying that we don't need to hear from anybody again. But we went through a process where our community told us what was important. We voted on them as a board. And I think that needs to be the sustaining focus, regardless of who is occupying our seats in a couple of months. So I think we should be open to doing whatever is the next best thing we need to do. And if starting the search process now opens that and doesn't limit us, we know we need a new person. 

[00:12:26] Christie Robertson: Director Mizrahi agreed that it makes sense to get started while also leaving all their options open. 

[00:12:33] Joe Mizrahi: Just to echo what Director Hersey said, at work, a lot of times when we have a moment of indecision, we just say, “the next step is the next step.” And it seems to me like, even if we're not sure what the outcome is or where we end up, it seems like the most logical next step is engaging this firm going forward. And then that still gives us, as I understand it, I think as every other director so far has expressed, that still gives us the leeway to make a different decision later. 

[00:12:56] Christie Robertson: Mizrahi also thanked Superintendent Jones. He and Director Clark were the only ones to do so at this particular meeting, although I expect others will have more to say at the next official meeting. 

[00:13:10] Joe Mizrahi: Okay, first of all, this being the first public opportunity to do so, I want to thank Dr. Jones for his service, and obviously, for me, wishing the best in his future.

[00:13:17] Christie Robertson: And here's Director Clark.

[00:13:19] Sarah Clark: First, just thanking Dr. Jones for his service and commitment to Seattle Public Schools and to our kids.

[00:13:28] Christie Robertson: Vice President Briggs asked a question about whether they would be limited to only candidates that the firm provided. And that's when President Topp clarified the role of the search firm to manage the process, the public engagement, the candidate outreach, and the coordination.

[00:13:43] Evan Briggs: I'm just wondering if using a search firm... does that preclude us from using other entities in our search? Like the Council for Great City Schools, for example? Or just, do all the candidates have to come through the search firm?, I guess is my question. 

[00:14:04] Gina Topp: The way I would believe it would work is that we can find candidates anywhere. And we should all be working and using our networks to find candidates to apply. And then they would go through the process that we set out in conjunction or in coordination with the search firm. So for example, Director Rankin and I were just in DC. I believe Director Rankin is still there. She's had a busy day on Capitol Hill meeting with legislators from Washington. But she is also with the Council of Great City Schools and has already made an announcement in front of the entire group that we'll be starting a superintendent search. So already making those connections. And I think we have a responsibility as a board to be doing that work. Does that answer your question? 

[00:14:47] Evan Briggs: Yeah, yeah. So just to clarify, the search firm is just one possible avenue for attracting candidates. They could come from anywhere, essentially. Yeah. 

[00:14:59] Gina Topp: Yeah. They can come from anywhere, and I think mainly they're providing the infrastructure for us and the capacity for us to be able to... What's the process? When are the dates? Coordinating with candidates for interviews. All of that backbone work. 

[00:15:07] Evan Briggs: Okay. 

[00:15:09] Gina Topp: That I don't think staff has the capacity for, and I definitely know board does not have capacity for.

[00:15:14] Christie Robertson: That's the input from the school board directors.

Perspective from a school board candidate

I was curious to get the perspective of somebody who would be potentially one of those new board directors, and so I talked to school board candidate Janis White and asked her what she thought.

So, from the perspective of somebody who is running for the board, how would you feel about choosing the next superintendent? Would you want to select the person that you're going to be working with? Or would you rather have that chosen by people that have been in the role?

[00:15:51] Janis White: I think that anyone running for the school board should want to be involved in choosing a superintendent, because it's probably one of the most impactful decisions you can make as a school board director. Having said that though, I think that it would be very difficult for brand new school board directors and a school board that has several brand new school board directors on it to have developed the working relationship and the trust among the school board directors and the shared understanding that you need to go through a really solid, good decision making process, and select a superintendent, in the very first few months that new folks are on the board. Because if you think about the timing of the November election... I think that's very challenging. 

And anyone joining the board as a new school board director is going to have a learning curve at the beginning about just being a school board director. And I think that you need to give people time to learn the role and do a good job in the role. And asking them to select a superintendent before they've had any time to do that...

And that, for that reason I can see value in having the current board run that search and make that selection before any new board directors are elected next November. 

[00:17:20] Christie Robertson: Thanks, Janis. 

[00:17:22] Janis White: Oh, you're welcome. 

What's Next?

[00:17:23] Christie Robertson: So what's next? If the board sticks to the schedule, a search firm will be hired by the end of April. Then the real work begins: building a leadership profile, opening applications, engaging the community. The board says engagement will be robust. 

According to the agenda materials, the plan is to begin broad stakeholder engagement in spring 2025, including in-person engagement opportunities and online survey focus groups and or interviews. Those inputs will help shape a leadership profile that guides the search, and then the superintendent position will be posted and promoted locally and nationally. Applications will be reviewed in late spring. Finalist interviews and school site visits will happen in early summer. And the goal is that the selected superintendent begins in September, 2025. 

That is the tentative plan. but as several directors said, it could change and we'll be watching.  

For links to the March 25th meeting documents, full transcripts, and press coverage about the superintendent transition, head to rainydayrecess.org. I'm Christie Robertson. Stay curious. Stay cozy, and thanks for listening to Rainy Day Recess.