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Milton School Board hires HYA to run superintendent search
Summary
The Milton School Board voted unanimously to retain HYA as the consultant for its superintendent search after hearing references for both HYA and McPherson and discussing confidentiality and access to candidate materials.
The Milton School Board voted unanimously to retain HYA as the consultant to lead its superintendent search, the board announced after a roll-call vote.
Board members discussed reference checks and vendor differences before the vote. The presiding officer summarized feedback from districts that worked with McPherson (consultant Dennis), saying those districts praised McPherson’s candidate pools but raised concerns about limited access time to candidate files and limited visible staff support. The presiding officer said McPherson limits off-site access to application materials for confidentiality and that board members would need to review some files at the district office and sign confidentiality agreements.
The board also reviewed references for HYA (which uses consultant Mike Ritchie). Verona and Monona Grove told the board HYA provided a professional, customized process and strong candidate pools; Monona Grove said the higher cost was justified by a polished outcome but cautioned the board that district oversight and timeline management require ongoing effort. The presiding officer reported HYA sometimes waives a typical $1,000 contracting fee for smaller districts.
John, a board member who moved the motion, cited HYA’s portal and the availability of a local consultant as reasons members leaned toward HYA. "I will make a motion to have the school board, the district move forward with HYA as our consultant for the superintendent search," John said. Tracy, a board member, seconded the motion.
The presiding officer called a roll-call vote. The recorded responses during the roll call were: Jen — yes; Ed — yes; John — yes; Annette — yes; Tracy — yes; Joe — yes; Rick — yes. After the vote the presiding officer said, "Motion carries." The board directed its hiring committee to meet the next morning at 7:30 a.m. at the district office to review the proposal and discuss contract terms, with staff to reach out to HYA and aim to finalize a contract by Tuesday afternoon if possible.
A board member asked about contractual guarantees if a particular consultant or candidate became unavailable; the issue was noted as a concern but no specific contractual language was added during the meeting. The meeting concluded with an adjournment.
The board discussed two finalist firms, McPherson and HYA, and chose HYA. The board’s next procedural steps are for the hiring committee to review contract details and for staff to reach out to HYA to begin contracting and scheduling candidate interviews.
