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Consultants report 460-survey response sample, describe Gilbert as an attractive superintendent role
Summary
McPherson & Associates summarized outreach for the superintendent search: stakeholder meetings, a K-12 Insight survey with 460 respondents (41% parents), and early applicant interest; consultants said the district’s strong results and stable finances should attract quality candidates.
Don Grotting of McPherson & Associates presented a summary of stakeholder outreach and the K-12 Insight community survey to the Gilbert Unified School District governing board on Nov. 4 as part of the superintendent search process.
Grotting summarized the timeline: a superintendent council meeting on Sept. 3 to identify desired attributes, stakeholder meetings on Oct. 14 (about 89 participants) and a community survey conducted Oct. 20–Nov. 2. He said the consultants received 460 survey responses and characterized the overall feedback as strongly positive — most of the nine evaluated areas scored over 70–80% — with only about 1% of respondents rating academic excellence as poor and about 2% rating student achievement as poor.
The survey responses, Grotting said, repeatedly emphasized family orientation and community support for education. He told the board respondents sought a superintendent who is a relationship builder, a systems thinker, and someone who understands Gilbert’s culture. He also highlighted community-identified district challenges: shifting demographics, declining enrollment and school-choice competition.
Grotting said five formal applications were complete at the time of his presentation but that the majority of applications for a role of this profile typically arrive in the final week before the deadline. He encouraged the board to finalize interview formats and said the consultants are conducting reference checks and outreach to prospective candidates.
Board members requested additional breakdowns by respondent category (for example, parent vs. staff) and Grotting said the consultants would provide those details. He also reminded the board they would receive the individual survey responses in about a week for review.
The board did not take substantive action on the search at the meeting; Grotting said the consultants will continue recruiting, vetting and preparing interview materials for the board’s consideration.
