Seattle school board approves HYA-led search plan, outlines timeline, engagement and translation commitments

Seattle Public Schools' Board of Directors held a special meeting May 13, 2025, to plan the district's superintendent search with executive search firm HYA (Hazard Young Attea & Associates). Board President Taub said the board had previously voted in April to "authorize a contract with an executive search firm HYA, to support our, superintendent search process." HYA staff outlined a recruitment, engagement and interview timeline that aims for a slate presentation in July, appointment and transition in August and a superintendent start date of Sept. 1.

The board and HYA emphasized extensive community engagement as central to the search. HYA's executive lead, Makai Ali, said, "The engagement phase will go until June. The recruitment commences tomorrow." HYA described plans for roughly 20 engagement sessions (virtual and in person), targeted active recruitment, a public survey open for roughly two to three weeks, stakeholder interviews, and focus groups with students, families, staff and community organizations. Nancy Perez, chief operating officer for Hazard Young Attea & Associates, introduced HYA's experience in large urban searches and said the firm will compile a leadership profile report based on community input that will be used to evaluate candidates.

Board members pressed HYA on accessibility and community-centered engagement. Director Michelle Sarju requested that materials be translated and written for broad comprehension, saying the district should provide translated web content that people "can read it and understand it" and not require "a PhD to read it and understand it." Bev Redmond, chief of staff and public affairs for the district, said it is standard practice "to translate into our top 5 languages," and that additional languages can be accessed via website translation tools.

Directors discussed candidate review and vetting. HYA described a slate of between five and 10 candidates and said it uses comprehensive third-party background checks that include credit checks and other due diligence. HYA noted it will provide interview materials and candidate dossiers to the board via a board portal. HYA also described use of a behavioral assessment (TTI) that it characterized as a detailed, roughly 50-page instrument for assessing candidate fit.

Several directors asked about a blind or redacted review process. Director Michelle Sarju asked that application copies provided to her have names redacted; HYA confirmed a blind-review option is possible and has been used in other searches, noting that identifiable attributes (name, gender, other personal identifiers) can be withheld during initial review to reduce bias. Directors Liza Rankin and Brandon Hersey expressed interest in learning more about the pros and cons of a blind process and in safeguards to avoid inadvertent identification through school or district names in applications.

HYA described the interview schedule: an initial round of interviews (60 minutes with presentation, SWOT and Q&A) followed by a second round with a case-study and a 100-day plan presentation (roughly 90 minutes). The firm advised that board members will have access to materials in the portal several days before meetings and suggested the board set aside a multi-day block in July or August (HYA recommended four to five days) to conduct interviews, deliberate and complete appointment logistics.

No vote or formal action on appointment occurred during the May 13 meeting; the session was a planning work session. President Taub closed the meeting by thanking the HYA team and confirming the next regular board meeting.

Ending: HYA will open the national recruitment and the board will receive the leadership profile and candidate slate in July; the board indicated it will continue to refine participation, translation and blind-review details in follow-up staff and HYA coordination.