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Keystone Central SD welcomes acting superintendent, moves to accelerate superintendent search
Summary
The Keystone Central SD board welcomed acting superintendent Dr. Lonaconis and agreed to invite two search firms for presentations the week of July 13–17, aiming to select and start a formal search contract by the end of July.
The Keystone Central SD board on July 2 formally welcomed Dr. Lonaconis as acting superintendent and directed staff to invite two search firms to present between July 13 and July 17 as the board seeks to start a formal superintendent search in July.
Board president Elizabeth opened the work session by introducing Dr. Lonaconis, who told trustees he had spent his first two days "picking up a lot of information" and thanked staff for orienting him. "Been a fast, furious two days," he said, noting he would have more to report next week.
Trustees reviewed two approaches to hiring a search firm: a higher-cost, hands-on model that leads and manages the search, and a lower-cost, board-driven model in which the board takes on more of the work. Elizabeth asked whether trustees wanted both firms — identified in materials as Tom Templeton Searching and IU 17 — to appear for a presentation and question-and-answer session; the board agreed to pursue both options and to try to have a firm selected and a contract signed before the end of July so the search could begin promptly.
Dr. Lonaconis and trustees discussed timing and candidate pools. Dr. Lonaconis advised scheduling firms as soon as possible to avoid missing candidates who would commit to new school-year assignments. One trustee urged setting clear goals ahead of contract drafting: "You have to build a contract without the goals in place," Elizabeth said, noting the firm’s role would include helping the board define the priorities and selection criteria.
The board approved, by consensus, asking administration to contact both firms and to report back with available presentation dates. The next procedural step is for the firms to present their approaches and for trustees to decide whether to authorize a contract at an upcoming voting session.
The board did not take a formal vote during the work session; the decision to invite the firms and prioritize a July timeline was recorded as a direction to staff.
