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Board appoints Michigan Leadership Institute to run Okemos superintendent search; MLI outlines timeline
Summary
Trustees approved the appointment of Michigan Leadership Institute (MLI) to conduct the superintendent search, and MLI’s Andy Engel presented a three‑phase plan with surveys, focus groups and a roughly 10–15 week timeline, recommending posting the vacancy promptly and running community input sessions in early December.
The board moved to select a superintendent search firm and appointed the Michigan Leadership Institute after the personnel committee’s interviews and reference checks. Trustees referenced proposals from MASB, MLI and Ray & Associates; the committee recommended MLI based on flexibility and strong references.
Trustee Kavanaugh moved to appoint MLI and the board approved the appointment by voice vote. Following the appointment, Andy Engel of MLI led a work session that outlined a three‑phase search process: planning and community input (surveys and focus groups), application review and interviews, and final selection and contract negotiation. Engel described a typical timeline of about 10–15 weeks and recommended posting a preliminary job notice quickly to attract candidates over the winter.
Engel urged broad input from multiple stakeholder groups — staff, parents, parent leaders, community leaders, students, and district administrators — and proposed holding focused in‑person and Zoom sessions between Dec. 2 and Dec. 11 with a target to publish the full superintendent profile by Dec. 15. He gave trustees options on whether to publish a salary range (Engel said a posted salary range can limit who applies, though several trustees favored including a range later) and cautioned that live‑streaming interviews can complicate candidate privacy and suggested recording interviews for later posting instead. "We're here to do the search until we have a successful candidate," Engel said, describing MLI’s guarantee and follow‑up support.
Why it matters: The search sets the district’s leadership transition timeline (Superintendent Hood is departing in April) and determines the process for candidate vetting, community engagement and a potential start date. Trustees agreed to finalize posting details and timeline on Dec. 8 and authorized MLI to begin outreach and input collection.
