Board authorizes HYA search, requires background checks and behavior assessment for finalists

The Jefferson County Board of Education on Jan. 28 moved forward with its superintendent search, approving a timeline developed with search firm HYA and narrowly spelling out vetting requirements for candidates.

The board voted to authorize HYA to post the superintendent opening as the district’s leadership profile is finalized, and it adopted a series of measures meant to keep the process confidential while giving the community chances to weigh in. The full board also approved a motion that every person considered for the position receive an independent background check and a TTI behavioral assessment before being slated as a finalist.

HYA consultants Nancy Perez and Micah Ali presented the firm’s four‑phase timeline: engagement (community input and a leadership profile), recruitment, selection (rounds of interviews), and transition. The schedule presented calls for an application posting in February, candidate introductions and first‑round interviews in April, finalist interviews and a community forum in May, and a July 1 start date for the selected superintendent, subject to contract negotiation.

Perez told the board HYA will compile a leadership profile from surveys, board and stakeholder interviews, focus groups and other materials, then align candidate recruitment to that profile. Ali described the interview sequence the firm typically uses: a 60‑minute first‑round performance presentation and Q&A, a second‑round interview with deeper questioning and competency review, and a public community forum for finalists.

The board approved several motions during the presentation. A motion requiring an independent background check and a TTI behavioral assessment for every person slated as a finalist was moved by board member Trisha Lister and seconded by board member Dena Duncan; the board recorded the motion as adopted with the clerk’s announcement, “Ayes have it.” The board also authorized HYA to post the vacancy while the leadership profile is still developing, and it set Feb. 14 as the closing date for the public stakeholder survey. The board approved external advertising placements recommended by HYA.

Superintendent Marty Polio said the district and HYA want broad participation in the profile and encouraged community responses to the survey. Perez said HYA recommends the firm post the position before the leadership profile is final so potential candidates are aware of the opening while recruitment begins.

What the board approved: independent background checks on slated candidates (fee noted by HYA), TTI behavioral assessments for slated candidates, posting the job in national outlets recommended by HYA, and a Feb. 14 closing date for the district’s survey. The board also directed staff to populate the screening committees by Feb. 28, consistent with the timeline presented.

The motions recorded at the meeting will be reflected in the search firm’s work plan and in HYA’s contract to the board. No candidate was identified during the Jan. 28 meeting.

Why it matters: The board’s decisions set the public timeline and vetting standards for what the district called a high‑profile search. Requiring background checks and a behavioral assessment for finalists formalizes the level of pre‑selection review the board will expect, and posting the opening before the leadership profile is complete is intended to accelerate recruitment while community input is still being gathered.