The Pascack Valley Regional High School District Board of Education agreed at a special meeting Sept. 25 to conduct its next superintendent search without hiring an outside search firm, appoint a four-member steering committee to oversee outreach and data collection, and aim to post the job by Oct. 6.

Board members said they would use a combination of a community survey, targeted focus groups and standard K–12 job posting sites to gather stakeholder input, and to categorize applicant resumes into groups for streamlined review. The board settled on a timeline discussed at the meeting: post the vacancy in early October, close applications around Nov. 3, begin initial resume review the second half of November, hold first-round interviews starting in December (including virtual options), and aim to complete negotiations in February if a finalist is selected.

The board appointed a four-member steering committee to manage logistics and screening. The committee will include Deb, Elizabeth, Mike and the meeting presenter (names provided in the meeting). Board members said the committee will prepare the job posting and coordinate survey and focus-group work before the posting goes live.

Board members discussed methods for gathering community input, including a SurveyMonkey-style questionnaire, focus groups for administrators, teachers, staff and key community organizations, and a way to segregate survey responses by stakeholder group (students, teachers, administrators, staff, community). Members recommended limiting focus groups to one or two per stakeholder group and suggested each session last roughly 45 minutes.

Members flagged special-education experience as a potentially important qualification because of the district’s in-district program (referred to in the meeting as “Park Academy”). The district’s attorneys will review proposed candidate questions for legal compliance but, according to the board, will not take part in resume review or interviews.

Board members discussed candidate competition in Bergen County and the importance of posting quickly to avoid losing prospects; examples mentioned by members included nearby districts that already have openings. The board also discussed using virtual first-round interviews and video submissions to expedite screening and broaden access to candidates.

No formal roll-call vote was taken on conducting the search; the board proceeded by consensus, with the presenter stating there was no disagreement. The meeting closed with instructions for board members to submit any suggested edits to the draft survey and job posting by the Monday following the meeting so the posting can be finalized for the Oct. 6 target.

The meeting included no public speakers on the superintendent item; public comment was offered later and no participants signed up to speak.