The Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees selected Hazard Young Attea Associates (HYA) to conduct the search for its next superintendent during a special called board meeting.
Current SOCSD Supt. Eddie Peasant is retiring from his position at the end of the current school year after a 30-year career in education.
The board reviewed proposals from four firms before unanimously voting to engage HYA.
HYA is a national search firm with more than 30 years of executive search experience in large and small, urban and rural school districts. HYA employs a network of independent education consultants across the nation to serve school districts with a local focus with a national reach. HYA associate, Dr. David Lee, who is based in Mississippi, is one of four members of the HYA team that is assisting the SOCSD Board of Trustees with the search. HYA has previously conducted searches for the Petal School District and Columbia School District in Mississippi.
As part of the search process, HYA liaisons and consultants will meet with the school board to identify desirable characteristics of the future superintendent, seek input from parent and community groups, establish appropriate timelines and target dates for the selection process, assist the board in establishing compensation parameters for the final candidate, and develop an announcement of vacancy and advertise the position with the appropriate media and professional organizations.
The multi-step search process begins with HYA conducting individual interviews with each board member and identified focus groups determined by the school board and gathering feedback through print and online surveys from internal and external stakeholders to develop the leadership profile and desired characteristics of the District’s next superintendent. HYA will use this information to create the formal posting of position.
The survey will be shared with all stakeholder groups, including parents, teachers, business partners, elected leaders and others within the next two weeks.