Craven County Board hires McPherson & Jacobson to run superintendent search; stakeholder meetings set for Sept. 25

Craven County school board members on a special-called meeting heard a presentation from national search firm McPherson & Jacobson and agreed on a timeline and stakeholder process for hiring the district27s next superintendent, including an in-person stakeholder day on Sept. 25 and an online K‑12 Insights survey to run Sept. 26–Oct. 2.

The board identified Jennifer Wagner, the district27s public information officer, as the point of contact for the search and directed consultants to post the vacancy as soon as the board approves the final position description; consultants said they would target a Sept. 4 posting. The consultants described a five-phase search that typically runs 8 to 12 weeks from first board meeting to finalist selection.

McPherson & Jacobson lead consultant Barry Carroll said the firm27s role is to recruit and vet candidates and present a vetted slate to the board. "We don27t hire superintendents," Carroll said. "We bring strong candidates before you and help you in the process of determining who is the best candidate for your district." Dr. Deborah White, the search team lead alongside Carroll, emphasized transparency…