District begins transparent HR director search; Human Capital to facilitate focus groups and hiring committee participation
Summary
Acting superintendent and board discussed the human resources director search process at the May 12 meeting. The district hired Human Capital to facilitate a transparent, inclusive search with focus groups and a director‑team hiring committee; focus groups were scheduled to begin the week of May 12.
Acting Superintendent Frost updated the McMinnville School District Board of Directors on the process to hire a new director of human resources during the May 12 business meeting.
Frost said the district engaged the search firm Human Capital (Robin Bean and Christy Perry named as facilitators) to assist with an inclusive process. The firm will run four 40‑minute focus groups with union leadership, building administrators, district office directors, and the HR/payroll team to gather input on the desired characteristics for the next HR director. The search firm will draft the candidate characteristics from focus group input, advertise the vacancy (the posting was already released the prior Friday), screen applicants, and conduct preliminary phone reference checks on the top candidates. The firm will transcribe their reference checks and supply materials to the district’s hiring committee — identified as the district’s director team — which will select candidates for interviews. The board will have an opportunity to participate during the finalist stage.
Frost said preliminary focus-group meetings were scheduled to begin later the same week and emphasized a goal of naming a new HR director by July 1 if possible; she noted that licensed administrators sometimes have a 60‑day release period from their current district, which could delay an actual start date even if the new director is named on July 1.
Board members asked whether an interim superintendent in place before finalist interviews could participate in the HR director finalist review; Frost said an interim, if installed before the finalist phase, could be included in finalist interviews. Board discussion also clarified the composition of the director hiring team (directors of instruction, operations, IT, finance and others) and the plan for the search firm to provide thorough documentation to the hiring committee.
No formal board action was required at the May 12 meeting; the update was informational and scheduled the next steps for the hiring timeline.
