Holliston School Committee votes to hire HYA to run superintendent search, subject to contract details

The Holliston School Committee voted Sept. 25 to engage HYA to conduct the district's superintendent search, with the agreement described as subject to negotiations over final pricing and optional add-ons. The committee heard presentations from HYA and NESAC earlier in the meeting and then voted to proceed with HYA.

The committee framed the decision as the start of a multi-step process. HYA representatives described a four-phase search that they called engage, recruit, select and transition, and said their work would include in-depth stakeholder interviews, focus groups and a district-wide survey processed by their research arm. "Selecting a new superintendent can always be a time where people get a little worried," HYA's Dr. Susan Guiney told the committee, adding the firm sees the role as a close partner through the entire process.

The nut of HYA's pitch was a combination of local presence and national recruiting reach; the firm said it would run a confidential initial screening, bring a slate of candidates informed by community input, and help the committee with scripted and unscripted interviews and transition support if a finalist is chosen. HYA said about 94% of superintendents the firm placed in the prior decade remained for a full first contract term and that many finalists are recruited from HYA's network rather than only applying online.

NESAC also presented a search model emphasizing deep community engagement and a network of New England superintendents to help recruit candidates. NESAC's presenter described a similar multi-phase process and outlined options for focus groups, in-person and virtual forums, and anonymous stakeholder surveys; NESAC said it intentionally keeps search teams small and personally involved. Committee members questioned both teams about price, the amount of in-person engagement, and how many concurrent searches each firm manages.

After questions, a committee member moved to engage HYA 'subject to negotiations'; another member seconded the motion and the committee voted in favor. The meeting transcript records the motion and a verbal vote in favor but does not include a recorded roll-call tally for that specific vote.

The committee directed its liaison and staff to contact HYA to begin contract negotiations and to clarify optional costs such as advertising packages and third-party due diligence. The committee also asked for a timeline that would allow community input (surveys and forums) beginning in October and a candidate appointment window targeted for January.

What happens next: the committee will finalize a contract with HYA (the vendor will return pricing and details) and then work with the firm to schedule the planning meeting, stakeholder interviews and the district survey. The search process will be public at the committee's direction, with confidential screening interviews for candidates handled as permitted by law.

Sources: committee meeting presentations by HYA and NESAC and the committee's Sep. 25 vote to engage HYA (motion recorded as "subject to negotiations").