Community highlights strengths, warns of funding and enrollment pressures during Chandler Unified superintendent search forum

HYA, the district’s search firm, hosted a community forum to collect public input as Chandler Unified School District #80 begins its superintendent search. The firm said nearly 2,000 responses have been collected through two surveys and multiple focus groups that will feed a leadership profile used by the board to screen candidates; finalists are expected to be in the district the last week of January for community events.

"So your voice truly matters," said Chris McDuffie of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates as he described the transparent, inclusive process the board requested. HYA said the leadership profile will be shared with the governing board and used to shape interview questions and selection criteria.

At the forum, parents and volunteers highlighted program breadth and staff responsiveness as strengths. Corina, a parent of a kindergartner with an individualized education program, said staff "always have time to answer my questions," and multiple speakers praised gifted programs, career-and-technical academies and extracurricular options as assets that attract and…