Consultant reports strong community engagement in CUSD superintendent search; leadership profile due Nov. 21
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Summary
HYA consultants reported more than 23 focus groups with at least 263 participants and nearly 2,900 survey responses as Chandler Unified prepares a leadership profile for a superintendent search; the application window opens and screening/interview dates were set for January.
HYA consultants updated the Chandler Unified School District Governing Board on the district’s superintendent search on Nov. 12, reporting substantial community engagement and outlining the hiring timeline.
HYA’s representative said, “We hosted a total of 23 focus group sessions and forums,” and reported a tally of “263 total participants” in the in‑person engagement events. He added that the survey pull at 6:40 p.m. showed 2,859 responses and that the number was continuing to rise. The HYA team explained it combined ParentSquare and a community Google form to capture feedback from parents, students, staff and residents.
The HYA timeline presented to the board sets the application deadline on Jan. 2, 2026; application screening and a board interview workshop on Jan. 13; and first‑round semifinalist interviews on Jan. 24. The consultants said the board will receive a leadership profile report — a public document summarizing dominant themes from the input — at a special meeting on Nov. 21. That leadership profile will guide screening criteria, interview questions and recruitment outreach.
Board members asked about focus‑group composition and whether board members’ attendance at sessions could inhibit candid feedback; the HYA consultant said the team had asked board members not to attend many sessions to ensure candor and explained the rationale for limiting governing‑board presence in certain stakeholder sessions. HYA also reported early recruitment activity, saying about 10 applicants had initiated applications in the system and that traffic to the national posting had seen at least 200 hits.
The board was told recordings and slides from the engagement work would be posted publicly to the district website and YouTube channels. The board reminded the public the superintendent search survey closes Nov. 14 at 4:00 p.m., and HYA said it will publish the leadership profile on Nov. 21.
What comes next: the board will review HYA’s leadership profile at a special session on Nov. 21 and then proceed with screening and interviews in January according to the schedule presented.