Less than a month after Superintendent Paula Radich announced her intention to retire at the end of the school year, the Newberg School District board of directors will hold community meetings to start the search for her replacement.

On Jan. 27, the board met for three and a half hours to interview representatives from two search firms. The board decided, after long discussions, to hire the Oregon School Board Association for the job.

The association’s initial bid was $10,250, but since the OSBA has a policy of honoring lower bids for equal services, board chairwoman Melinda Van Bossuyt negotiated a fee of $9,450.

The search will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday with a public meeting in the lecture hall at Mountain View Middle School. A second public meeting is slated for 6 p.m. Feb. 9 in the commons at Newberg High School.

The purpose of the meetings is to allow community members and district staff to voice their opinions on the attributes needed for the next chief executive of the schools. Interested community members will also be able to sign up to be part of the screening committee.

The actual window for people to apply for the job will be Feb. 21 to March 29 and the job will be posted nationally through professional websites and publications. However, on Jan. 27, executive search consultant Donna Herren and OSBA’s associate director of legal, labor and employment services told the board that on average 70 percent of the applications will likely come from Oregon.

The applications (OSBA expects there will be two dozen) will be screened by the board and about 15 community members the week of April 4. On April 12, the board will winnow the list down to the finalists, who will be invited to tour the school district.

A job offer should be extended to one of the finalists on April 27 and the board hopes to make an announcement on May 8, allowing a bit more than one week to settle on a contract.

“This is a really tight schedule,” Van Bossuyt said, adding that it puts the district in a good position to have a replacement ready in early May.
On Jan. 27, the directors had a difficult time deciding between OSBA’s bid and that of Window To Leadership LLC, the owner of which formerly worked for the OSBA.

“I think we will be well served by either one and that we will have a good outcome,” Van Bossuyt said during the discussion. In the end, board members voted unanimously to hire OSBA because of what they felt was a “deeper bench” of employees.

Laurent Bonczijk, Newberg Graphic