The Hollister School District Board of Trustees on June 1 unanimously selected Hazard Young Attea Associates (HYA) to conduct the search for a new superintendent. Superintendent Diego Ochoa announced his resignation two weeks ago and plans to leave the district on June 30. HYA conducted the last superintendent search that led to Ochoa’s hiring.
Trustees appointed Assistant Superintendent Erika Sanchez interim superintendent.
The district will also search for a replacement for trustee Stephen Kain who resigned from the board. His last day will be June 4.
The superintendent search will cost the district $19,000. The fee includes all the services until the new superintendent is approved. HYA said the services include guarantees, including that the new superintendent will not be solicited by HYA for three years. In addition, HYA will conduct another search within one year free of charge if the selected candidate resigned for other than personal or familial reasons.
While the same search firm will be used, the makeup of the Board of Trustees is different from 2018; only trustee Elizabeth Martinez still on the board.
Ochoa, though he joined the district with a mixed track record, won over the community as he improved the special education program as well as communications between the district and parents, primarily in the spanish-speaking community.
Jacqueline Horejs and Martha Martinez with HYA presented the process by which the search firm would narrow down the list of candidates until trustees select the new superintendent. In a draft timeline, they showed the trustees selecting the new superintendent in August at the earliest.
Martinez said HYA uses a four-phase process for finding the next superintendent.
- Phase 1: Engage the district and community. This phase includes HYA interviewing the trustees to learn the district’s needs and the community to narrow down the criteria they expect from a superintendent. With the information HYA gathers, it creates a profile and criteria they will be using to select candidates.
- Phase 2: Recruit qualified candidates by placing advertisements with superintendent associations and education-focused publications. It also uses its database of superintendents.
- Phase 3: HYA presents the top candidates to the trustees. From that list, the trustees select the candidates they want to interview. Following the interviews, the trustees select the superintendent. This phase includes reference checks, media and background checks conducted by HYA.
- Phase 4: Help the new superintendent transition into his or her new position.
Kain asked if there was any way the district could ensure superintendents stay longer.
“Six superintendents in 20 years is ridiculous,” he said.
Ochoa was hired by the district in 2019, replacing Lisa Andrew, who lasted two years in the position. Before her, Gary McIntire was superintendent for six years.
Horejs said there is nothing the board can do legally to guarantee that a superintendent will stay longer. However, she said an option is for the district to offer longevity bonuses.
Martinez said that in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been an extraordinary year because California is faced with an unprecedented number of superintendent vacancies.
“That probably added to Diego’s departure,” Martinez said. “Opportunities were out there.”
HSD also received a presentation by search firms McPherson Jacobson, LLC. in the June 1 meeting.
Following a closed session to discuss the search firms, the board announced their selection without further comment.
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