Three meetings in particular will let the public as well as those with particular interest weigh in on the search for the next supervisor of the Benicia Unified School District.

Janice Adams has announced her retirement, and the district has taken the initial steps to find her successor.

Those meetings are among the many steps the district is taking toward that goal.

Bob Ferguson of Napa, a member of the Omaha, Neb.-based McPherson & Jacobson LLC, an executive recruitment and development company hired by the BUSD Board of Trustees to conduct the search, will lead the three community forums.

Specifically invited to attend will be those representing multiple segments of Benicia, such as municipal representatives, including Council members and city employees; representatives of Benicia Police; and multiple civic and community organizations, particularly those who award scholarships to the students.

Also welcome will be parents of children in the local public schools, parent-school groups and the Benicia Education Foundation, according to information provided by the district.

Ferguson will describe the hiring process, then listen to those attending, particularly about the skills a superintendent would need to bring to the job.

The meetings will resemble the special meeting between Ferguson and the district governing board March 5, in which Ferguson received trustees’ comments.

Ferguson will take notes on the comments, and present them to the governing board for its consideration.
Besides these three public meetings, the search firm will meet privately with students, teachers, labor leaders and various district leadership groups.

In addition, other meetings with representatives of those with specific interests in schools and the district also are planned. But those representatives haven’t been picked, either, according to the district information.

None of those dates has been set.

The search is in its preliminary stage, according to district information. While the search will look at applicants from within the Benicia school district as well as beyond, the job hasn’t been posted yet.

The district will notify prospective candidates through EdJoin.org, a public education job search site, and EdCal, a weekly publication of the the Association of California School Administrators.
Those notifications will be handled by Ferguson’s firm.

A new superintendent may be selected by early May, and the district will announce its choice at a special meeting and reception.

The three public meetings, which start Monday, have been set at different times of day in hopes of accommodating residents’ varying schedules.

The first will be at 7 p.m. Monday in the school district’s Governing Board Room, 350 East K St.
The next meeting will be at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the Talk Town Room of Benicia Middle School, 1100 Southampton Road.

The third in the series will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday, again in the Governing Board Room, 350 East K St.
The public also is welcome to attend.

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