Goshen board outlines superintendent search timeline, plans community forums

The Goshen Central School District board on July 7 heard a timeline for its superintendent search that would post the position in early August, gather broad stakeholder input, and aim to have a new superintendent begin work Jan. 1.

Deborah Hepes, a member of the search team, said the process will combine an online questionnaire and in-person forums. "We do it as team," she said, adding the consultants have run similar searches for neighboring districts and view broad community involvement as central to finding a good match. Terry (search consultant) told the board, "The timeline will progress initially, with us posting the position as of August 1." The consultants said the posting will appear on New York State outlets, the state school boards association, and a national superintendents association to attract both local and out-of-state applicants.

Why it matters: The board framed the search as a community-driven effort after a year of transition; members emphasized transparency and broad outreach to students, staff and families. Consultants said they will collect responses by stakeholder group and produce an infographic summarizing the results, which the district can post to its website and social media so participants can see how their input was used.

The planned steps include an online stakeholder questionnaire open to all residents and targeted community forums in September, followed by application screening, certification checks and interviews. Consultants said committee interviews and finalist selections will follow the stakeholder input phase; the board retains final hiring authority.

Board members asked how the feedback would be shared across groups. Terry said the team will "clump it together, group it by the different stakeholder groups" and publish a visual summary so participants can see what issues rose to the top. When a board member asked whether the posting could go up earlier than Aug. 1, consultants said it could be posted sooner if the materials are ready.

The board later entered executive session to discuss aspects of the search and related personnel matters, a routine step in many superintendent searches when candidate employment history or personnel-specific details are discussed.

What’s next: The consultants and board expect to open the application window in August and hold community forums in September; the board will publish links to the questionnaire and post summaries of stakeholder input as the process unfolds.