Pendleton School Board launches national search with McPherson & Jacobson

The Pendleton School District 16R Board of Directors on Dec. 12 engaged McPherson & Jacobson to run a nationwide superintendent search and approved a recruitment calendar that begins advertising the week of Dec. 16, 2024. Board Chair Patrick Gregg introduced consultants Heidi Sipe and Doug Nelson, who described outreach plans that include postings on the Oregon School Boards Association website, regional administrators’ associations, the consultants’ site and, in January 2025, a $400, 30‑day posting with the American Association of School Administrators to broaden the pool nationally.

The consultants outlined plans for in-person stakeholder meetings in Pendleton — with district office staff, school administrators, classified employees, student leaders, certified staff and parent/community members — followed by an online survey and a bound report to the board. Their stated goal is to present six highly qualified candidates for the board to consider and reduce that list to three finalists. Chair Patrick Gregg then entertained a motion to approve the advertised calendar as amended; Director Beth Harrison moved the motion, and the board recorded that the motion carried unanimously.