Fountain Hills board approves superintendent advisory committee to guide hiring

The Fountain Hills Unified School Board voted to create a superintendent advisory committee that will advise the board during its search for the district’s next superintendent.

At a special meeting called to order at 6 p.m., the presiding board member proposed a limited agenda and moved the advisory-committee proposal, which lays out three subcommittees — teachers and staff, students, and parents and community members — each with up to seven members. A board member seconded the motion and the board approved it by voice vote; individual tallies were not recorded.

Under the approved plan, the subcommittees would review applications, may participate in interviews of finalists and provide recommendations to the governing board, which retains authority to make the final appointment. The board discussed practical trade-offs between broader representation and scheduling difficulties, and several members said they preferred the larger seven-member panels to ensure representation across schools.

Board members set a timetable: the board will review and is expected to approve the job posting at next week’s meeting, the posting will remain open for several weeks with applications expected by early March, and the board plans to consider appointments at its February 18 meeting and finalize committee content by its March 4 meeting. The board also discussed giving subcommittees a themed summary of survey results rather than individual survey comments to preserve anonymity and avoid outliers driving conclusions.

The motion’s text calls for membership nominations or recommendations by principals (for teachers/staff and students) and by board members (for parents and community); membership will be subject to appointment by the governing board. The board emphasized that the board itself will make the final hiring decision.

The meeting adjourned after the discussion and the advisory-committee vote.