Board hears two search-firm pitches, delays selection while asking about cost, outreach and timeline

The Spooner Area School District board heard pitches from two superintendent-search consultants and agreed not to make a selection at the meeting, instead asking both firms to answer follow-up questions about outreach, screening and fees.

At the outset, Chair (speaker 1) said the board had a quorum but that several members were absent and no firm selection would be made that night. Cheryl Gullichrude, representing the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, described a multi-stage search process that emphasizes stakeholder input — focus groups and an online community survey — and a posting and interview timeline that could lead to candidate interviews in January and a hire by February. “As your member association, we’ve done searches for many, many years,” Gullichrude said. She told the board that WSB provides…