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To replace Elia, Hillsborough schools faces strong competition for top talent

 
MaryEllen Elia, who was fired on a 4-3 vote, will go on vacation in March, but her contract ends in June.
MaryEllen Elia, who was fired on a 4-3 vote, will go on vacation in March, but her contract ends in June.
Published Feb. 1, 2015

TAMPA — As Hillsborough County School Board members get ready to search for a new superintendent, they sound confident they'll attract some top candidates.

"They will want to come to Tampa, Florida," board member Sally Harris said. "We are the eighth-largest school district in the country. Why wouldn't you apply for this job if you have ambition?"

But the board, which dismissed MaryEllen Elia on Jan. 20, faces a highly competitive market and a small pool of candidates qualified and willing to lead a large, urban school system.

Among the other districts seeking a new superintendent are Palm Beach County (12th largest in the nation), Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C. (18th largest), DeKalb County, Ga., (29th largest) and Albuquerque, N.M. (31st largest).

The Dallas Independent School District (14th largest) is looking for a chief of schools — its No. 2 position — and Michigan is accepting applicants for state superintendent of public instruction.

The list goes on.

Other top 75 districts needing new chief executives include the Austin and Fort Worth independent school districts in Texas, Metro Nashville in Tennessee, Boston public schools and Volusia County. The nation's biggest system, Los Angeles, is expected to join the hunt soon, too.

In addition to heavy competition, "there's a shallower pool (of candidates) than in the past," said veteran search executive Jim Huge, who is managing St. Lucie County's effort to hire a superintendent.

Pinellas County's 2012 superintendent search, for example, received wide criticism for drawing mostly lackluster applicants who did not inspire board members. The Pinellas Education Foundation was so unimpressed that it offered to pay for another search. The board demurred, hiring Mike Grego, whose contract they later extended.

Districts looking now, Huge said, are competing for the same small group.

Hillsborough's process is set to begin at Tuesday's regular board meeting, during which members will discuss finding a new leader.

The prospect of going head-to-head with Hillsborough for a new superintendent prompted the Palm Beach County School Board to fast-track its search. The board recently dumped plans to hunt into the summer, instead aiming to have a new leader chosen by April 30 — two months before Elia's contract officially ends, though she will go on vacation beginning March 6.

Palm Beach also boosted its pay range above the $236,385 that the departing superintendent earned.

"We wanted to know we would be competitive enough that people would look at us and not rule us out because of salary," board Chairman Chuck Shaw said.

Elia earned about $289,000 a year in salary, plus $138,000 or so in benefits and bonuses.

The tenure of big-district superintendents averages about three years, meaning the churn is fairly constant. If a board doesn't find a candidate it likes in the current crop, Huge said, it can hold off and wait for a new group to emerge.

At the same time, candidates will look closely at what their potential bosses bring to the table, said Gary Ray, president of Ray and Associates, one of the nation's longest-running superintendent search firms.

The Hillsborough board's 4-3 vote to dismiss Elia without cause might dissuade some who worry about board relations. Other hopefuls might be scared away by the knowledge that Hillsborough has not hired an outsider to lead the district since before Richard Nixon.

"That's one of the challenges for whoever is conducting the search: To assure candidates that they will get a fair shake but also not to mislead them," said Ruth Melton of the Florida School Boards Association, which conducts superintendent searches.

Plenty of potential candidates exist for the Hillsborough job, Ray said, but he added that the match has to be a good one. That's where the search criteria and process matters.

"Somebody can be an outstanding superintendent or deputy in one district but might not match up to the challenges of another district," he said. "It's just looking for a good marriage."

With the vote to oust Elia behind them, Hillsborough board members have started to look ahead. In the short term they don't expect to do too much.

"We can't name anyone (on Tuesday) because we still have a superintendent on the books," Chairwoman Susan Valdes said.

Elia's contract expires June 30.

But she can name someone to fill in for her starting March 6, after she leaves, and, conceivably, "we can say that such and such a person will step in on July 1," Valdes said. "We can also begin the process of finding a search firm . . . and discuss what the cost would be."

Deputy superintendent Jeff Eakins is most often mentioned as the likely acting superintendent.

Board member Doretha Edgecomb said the board will have to drop its grudges and come together for the good of the district.

"If some people want A and others want B, we might have to find a way to do C," she said. "We will have to let go of our differences."

Several board members expressed interest in seeking input from parents, teachers, and business and civic leaders, just as the board did a decade ago when it hired Elia. "I think community input is absolutely essential," board member Carol Kurdell said.

A national search, which can cost up to $125,000 and last several months, is part of the plan for most — even if the board ultimately hires from inside.

"I think actually we are going to have plenty of qualified candidates," board member Melissa Snively said. Despite the board's split over Elia, "there might be someone out there who says, 'I am up for the challenge.' That's the kind of person I want."

Board member Cindy Stuart said she is already evaluating options.

"I'm looking at other districts (including Pinellas), what they did and what mistakes they made," she said. "I want us to be thinking way outside the box on this and doing all the homework that we need to."

Contact Jeffrey S. Solochek at jsolochek@tampabay.com or (813) 909-4614. Follow @jeffsolochek. Contact Marlene Sokol at msokol@tampabay.com. Follow @Marlenesokol.