School Committee hires NASDAQ consultant for interim superintendent search, appoints screening co-chairs

The Wilmington School Committee voted Feb. 26 to enter a contractual relationship with a consultant from NASDAQ to support an interim superintendent search, pending successful negotiations and with an amount not to exceed $6,000.

The committee also appointed Dr. Bryson as co-chair of the screening committee for the interim superintendent search and named Mr. Turner as the school committee's second representative on that panel. The appointments were adopted by a unanimous voice vote.

Why it matters: Committee members said they want outside consulting help to speed an interim search and to ensure a deeper candidate pool while the committee manages timing and budget constraints for a July 1 start for a new superintendent. The committee compared two vendor approaches during the discussion: MASC's full-package search service (quoted in discussion as about $11,500) and a narrower NASDAQ consulting/posting option (discussed as a lower-cost posting/consulting approach, with a quoted posting fee of roughly $4,500 and a consultant scope estimate of $4,500—$5,500). The committee amended a motion to set a $6,000 upper limit for the NASDAQ contract before voting.

Committee members described the NASDAQ scope as including posting and application collection, and potentially additional work such as organizing applications, supporting the development of a screening committee and interview schedules, and providing some screening/interview assistance. The committee noted that a separate, full-scale permanent superintendent search would likely require a separate contract if pursued later.

The committee asked staff to confirm NASDAQ's availability for the compressed timeline and to complete contract negotiations consistent with the committee's stated ceiling. Committee members also asked staff to identify where the funds would come from in the current budget; district staff said the cost would need to be located in the district budget and that small consultant fees could be found if necessary.

Actions recorded - Motion: Enter into a contractual relationship with NASDAQ for consulting on the interim superintendent search, pending successful contract negotiations. - mover: not specified (motion offered during meeting) - second: Mister Golden (second recorded) - vote_tally: yes-unanimous - outcome: approved - Amendment: Limit NASDAQ contract to amount not to exceed $6,000. - mover: not specified - second: not specified (amendment was moved and seconded during the meeting) - vote_tally: yes-unanimous - outcome: approved - Motion: Appoint Dr. Bryson as chair of the screening committee and Mr. Turner as the school committee's second representative. - mover: not specified - second: Mister Samaha - vote_tally: yes-unanimous - outcome: approved

Discussion summary: Members weighed cost and speed, comparing a full-service MASC package (discussed at roughly $11,500 in the meeting) and NASDAQ's lower-cost posting and limited consulting support. Some members argued for the added value of an outside consultant to broaden the applicant pool and reduce risk if the district's posting alone did not attract sufficient candidates. Others said the committee could manage much of the process internally with staff support. Several members said a small consulting contract could be rolled into a longer relationship for a later full search if that proved useful.