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HYA reports stakeholder-driven leadership profile; Cary D26 board set to receive candidate slate Dec. 18
Summary
HYA, the firm conducting Cary CCSD 26's superintendent search, told the board Oct. 20 that stakeholder interviews and a survey produced a leadership profile to guide candidate recruitment and interviewing; the firm said it will present a slate of candidates to the board on Dec. 18 and that about 20 applicants have been received so far.
HYA, the firm leading Cary CCSD 26's superintendent search, presented its stakeholder-driven leadership profile and recruitment timeline at the committee meeting Oct. 20. HYA said it interviewed every board member, administrators, teachers, support staff, bus drivers, students and community members and ran a district survey to identify strengths, challenges and desired qualifications for the next superintendent.
HYA representative Ken said the leadership profile is intended to "target our recruitment and the board's recruitment" and to be a practical tool for interviews and a 100-day plan for the incoming superintendent. He said the comprehensive report will be posted to the district website and distributed to applicants. "We will send that out to the applicants that we have so far," HYA representative Jane said, adding the firm had "about 20" applicants at the time of the meeting.
The firm reported consistent themes across stakeholder groups. Strengths included broad community pride and satisfaction with recent facility modernization. The most frequently cited leadership need was an "instructional leader" to sustain momentum rather than introduce new initiatives. HYA said stakeholders urged the board to "capitalize on what is working" and to seek a leader who can make staff feel "enthused to be here."
HYA identified several recurring challenges. Teacher retention emerged as the top concern; stakeholders told HYA that newly hired teachers often leave after one to two years and that salaries are a major factor. Ken summarized the compensation feedback as a persistent issue and said stakeholders described Cary as having become, in some respects, a "stepping stone district." The firm also reported concerns about student behavior (with bullying flagged at the junior high), inconsistent inter-school communication, insufficient support staff for inclusion and special-needs students, and frustration with in-class "dead screen time" tied in part to pandemic-era shifts in instruction.
In response to board questions about candidate vetting, HYA said it investigates references and background information and recommended that the board perform third-party background checks on final candidates. "Every search that we have done, every board has done, we want to have a background check on the final 3," Ken said, noting such checks can reveal items that do not appear in public searches.
On scheduling, HYA said the firm will present a slate of up to eight candidates to the board on Dec. 18 (moved from an earlier plan to present in November), with board interviews beginning in January and a projected superintendent start date in July. HYA emphasized that the search is conducted for and with the board and invited ongoing questions and updates.
Board members pressed HYA for clarifications several times during the Q&A, including whether concerns about screen time and communication were driven mainly by parents (HYA said parents were the primary source for the screen-time feedback) and whether the firm had relied on exit interviews for turnover causes (HYA said it used multiple sources across stakeholder groups).
