FCPS announces new partner for superintendent search
The following is a letter, sent to media from board chair, John Price:
"After three hours of review and deliberation this morning, your Fayette County Board of Education team voted to move forward with the search for the next Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent in partnership with McNamara Search Associates, Inc.
You may recall that the board voted on Sunday to end the contract with its original search consultant. More than a dozen executive search firms and superintendent search consultants were contacted this week and asked to consider sending a proposal for the board to review. Five organizations expressed an interest and the school board interviewed the owners of three companies this morning.
While we had three very strong contenders, the board was impressed with Lynda McNamara’s thorough approach to vetting candidates and commitment to the Lexington community. We believe she will help us ensure that the next superintendent fits the profile established with input from thousands of Fayette County students, staff, families and community members through listening sessions and surveys.
The application window for our search closes on May 15. Under the terms of closing out our work with Proact Search Inc., our contract with them remains in place until midnight on May 18. To ensure consistency, Proact Search is continuing to accept applications. All of the materials submitted to Proact Search will then be given to the school board, superintendent screening committee and McNamara Search.
We hope to stay as close to our original timeline as possible, but after we receive the applications and begin working with McNamara, we may have to make adjustments to our original schedule. The first step will be finalizing a contract with McNamara. Our vote today was to authorize our attorney to negotiate the terms of an agreement. No price was set, but it will be less than $20,000.
The board’s goal is to name a new superintendent prior to July 1, but if we do not find the right candidate, we will not rush this process. Lexington has high standards for its leaders and our schools, and your school board team is determined to hire a superintendent able to surpass expectations as we work to ensure that we provide a world class education for every single student in every single school."
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