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Fairfax City School Board approves superintendent search timeline after consultant's presentation
Summary
The Fairfax City School Board voted unanimously Aug. 4 to approve a consultant's multi-month superintendent search timeline, which schedules community input, an Aug. 26 in-person forum at Fairfax High School and candidate interviews through October with an anticipated announcement Nov. 3.
Dr. Phyllis Pujardo, an education consultant and former Fairfax City superintendent, presented a proposed timeline for the School Board's superintendent search and the board voted unanimously to approve it.
Pujardo told the board the search will begin with an advertisement posted for at least two weeks, broad community outreach and both in-person and virtual engagement. "You are about to embark on a very major decision, a decision that's going to impact 5,000 students," she said, stressing the council's role as hiring manager and outlining steps from initial stakeholder meetings to a final contract offer.
The consultant described specific public-engagement plans and dates. She said the board has scheduled an in-person community forum for Aug. 26 at 6:30 p.m. at Fairfax High School and a virtual forum for Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m., and that an online survey will run for roughly three weeks to gather resident, parent, student and staff input. "We will post this information on the website" and use the city's engagement portal and flyers with QR codes for preregistration, she said.
Board members pressed for details about format and access. Miss Kelsey asked, "Can you possibly share just for the community kind of what the community forums are going to look like, and where exactly they need to go to find out more information about them?" Pujardo responded that forums will follow a strict protocol focused on the skills and qualities the community wants in a superintendent, that paper submission will be allowed at the in-person forum for those who do not use online tools, and that individual stakeholder meetings will be used to identify themes to build a superintendent profile.
Pujardo said staff and outside HR professionals will prescreen applicants in September based on minimum qualifications before the board receives a candidate profile and slate of candidates on Oct. 6. The board is scheduled to conduct first- and second-round interviews in October (beginning the week of Oct. 13) and to present and announce an offer on Nov. 3 if the timeline proceeds as planned; she cautioned the board that candidate transition dates may vary depending on the finalist's current employment.
Following the presentation and the question-and-answer period, Miss Hickman moved that "the City of Fairfax School Board approve the superintendent search timeline as printed and distributed." The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote with no members opposed.
The board also adopted the meeting agenda earlier in the session by voice vote. The chair adjourned the special meeting at 7:01 p.m.
Next steps: the board will post the search timeline and engagement links on the district site, open the advertised application window, and collect stakeholder input before the Oct. 6 profile and slate presentation.
