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Redwood City board narrows process for national superintendent search, aims for Dec. interviews
Summary
The Redwood City School District board agreed on a search process for a successor to retiring Superintendent Dr. Baker, asking firms to respond to a short RFP/rubric and targeting firm presentations in September with finalist interviews in December and contract approval in January.
The Redwood City School District Governing Board on Aug. 27 began defining a national search process to replace Superintendent Dr. Baker, who announced his retirement effective at the end of the coming school year. President Wells opened the discussion by proposing a short pool of firms drawn from regional practice and suggested bringing finalists to the Sept. 10 meeting for presentations.
Trustees emphasized creating a measurable rubric to vet search firms before live presentations. "What are some of the aspects of what we would look for?" a trustee asked, listing placement in similar districts, evidence of successful placements, responsiveness and cost as core filters. Several trustees recommended using written questions or a lightweight RFP as a top-of-funnel screen so the board could evaluate responsiveness and objective measures before scheduling in-person presentations.
Board members generally endorsed a condensed timeline that would place planning and community engagement in September and October, recruitment in October–November, finalist selection and interviews in December and contract approval in January. President Wells cautioned that parts of the finalist process—candidate interviews—will take place in closed session under the Brown Act to protect confidentiality.
Trustees asked staff to collect concrete action items and ownership: who will contact which firms, what background supports each recommendation and how firms will demonstrate community-engagement capacity and bilingual outreach. President Wells said she would work with the superintendent and staff to prepare a short RFP and to compile firm materials and rationale for inclusion or exclusion.
What happens next: the board signaled a preference to invite a manageable set of firms to present at the Sept. 10 meeting and to narrow finalists for December interviews. The board noted calendar constraints, including at least one trustee’s absence from the Nov. 12 meeting, and acknowledged some parts of the process will require additional, possibly longer meetings outside regular hours.
The board did not take a final vote on selecting a firm at this meeting; trustees agreed to return results of the RFP and candidate-firm responses at a future session for further action.
