NCSBA lays out superintendent-search process and confidentiality safeguards

Sam Thorpe, an attorney who leads the superintendent-search service at the North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA), presented the association's standard search process and timeline to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board.

Thorpe described the initial search documents the board would need to approve to begin a facilitated search — a timeline, vacancy announcement and application materials — and said the only fixed date in a draft timeline is the application deadline. He emphasized options for community and staff engagement, including anonymous Qualtrics surveys and an open-ended comment field that the NCSBA can administer and present to the board.

"We never screen applicants," Thorpe said. "We never tell you which application to look at or not look at, who to interview or not interview, who to hire or not hire. North Carolina law makes abundantly clear it is locally elected boards of education exclusively that hire superintendents." He described using a secure platform, Simbly, for candidate materials and said his team would perform due diligence — social-media checks and third-party background and verification checks — while protecting candidate confidentiality and complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Thorpe walked through logistics for first- and second-round interviews, the NCSBA’s facilitation role in closed-session discussions of finalists, and post-selection communications (including draft press releases and final minutes). Board members had no substantive questions during the meeting; the chair said the board would digest the materials Thorpe sent by email and follow up about possible next steps.

Next steps: the board will review the draft documents Thorpe supplied, discuss whether to retain NCSBA facilitation, and schedule additional conversations with Thorpe as needed.