Wayzata board reviews record public input, plans community engagement with superintendent finalists

Wayzata Public Schools on Feb. 4 reviewed a record public engagement summary of the district’s superintendent search and agreed to bring community voices into the final round of interviews through site tours and short representative question‑and‑answer sessions.

Barb Dawn, director of executive search services at the Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA), told the board the survey drew 2,025 completed responses and a large set of open‑ended comments. "I'm really pleased to be here tonight to take the next step in the superintendent search for Wayzata Public Schools," Dawn said while outlining how MSBA analyzed quantitative results and themes.

The engagement results show broad interest across stakeholder groups: roughly 41% of respondents identified as parents or guardians, about 37% identified as students and roughly 17% as staff, Dawn said. MSBA identified top priorities that rose across groups: budget and finance, collaborative leadership and curriculum development and evaluation. Students emphasized a welcoming school climate, a wide variety of classes and concern about enrollment and facilities.

MSBA said staff read every comment and used an AI tool to help identify themes. "We will put it into an AI tool to help us winnow down themes and patterns and then the staff person that looked at all of those comments will find representative comments," Dawn said; she added MSBA reviewed for inappropriate or identifying language before including representative excerpts.

Why it matters: The board will use the public input to shape interview questions and final deliberations. MSBA emphasized matching candidate evaluation to the district’s leadership profile and warned members about prohibited lines of questioning and implicit bias during public interviews and deliberations.

What the board approved and planned - Posting the report: By consensus the board asked MSBA and district staff to place a summary and the public engagement report on the superintendent search landing page so candidates and participants can review community input. - Finalist day (March 5): MSBA recommended each finalist take district tours accompanied by senior leaders and meet with targeted representative groups (20–40 people) who would complete a short input form identifying up to three "strengths" and a few "wonderments" (areas for growth). MSBA said it could condense those responses into themes for the board before interviews begin. - Interview schedule and confidentiality: The subcommittee will conduct round‑1 interviews and recommend semifinalists to the full board; finalists and round‑2 interviews are scheduled for March 6. MSBA reiterated that applicant names are private data until a candidate is named a finalist and advised against livestreaming interviews to avoid giving later candidates an advantage.

Interview training and legal limits MSBA provided board members with interview training that covered protected‑class restrictions, limits on follow‑up questioning in public sessions, guidance on taking notes (avoid writing protected attributes because notes may be public records) and use of a standardized rubric with ratings of exceeded/met/disappointed. MSBA also reviewed typical deliberation scenarios and urged the board to rely on the leadership profile and the public input summary when members are split.

Reference checks, negotiations and other process notes MSBA clarified its role: the association provides search services, sample contracts and research but does not negotiate superintendent contracts for the district. Once finalists’ names are public, board members may perform broader reference checks; MSBA will provide guidance and a set of sample questions for reference calls.

Board selection of round‑1 questions Board members reviewed a prepared list and, by show of hands and discussion, narrowed the subcommittee’s round‑1 questions to a set of roughly 13–14 items focused on the leadership profile (including finance/budgeting, collaborative leadership, equity and scenario‑based management questions). MSBA said it will work with Executive Director Lutz to finalize wording and prepare a rubric for scoring.

Next steps MSBA will provide the board with the recommended semifinalist list and continue to work with district leadership to finalize the March 5 finalist day activities, the subcommittee’s rubrics and the logistics for March 6 interviews. If interviews proceed as planned, the board could begin contract negotiations with a preferred candidate as early as March 7, subject to board approval.

Actions recorded at the meeting included approval of the meeting agenda by roll call and a voice vote to adjourn at 7:15 p.m. The board’s next regular meeting is Feb. 9.