The Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees met two hours early Thursday in a special workshop with Bob Ferguson of Omaha, Neb.-based McPherson & Jacobson LLC to discuss criteria and desired characteristics of a new superintendent, and to establish a timeline for making the new hire.

In January Superintendent Janice Adams announced she will retire after the current school year, which ends in June.

Ferguson presented a draft calendar outlining the process of selecting candidates, and he said discussion with stakeholders — including staff, teachers and parents, as well as students and community groups — will take place on March 16, 17 and 18 to get input on the district and the new superintendent.

“We will take down everything that was said in every one of the meetings that we have, and it is given to you,” he told trustees Thursday. “Sometimes it might be something confidential that they don’t put in written form, and that will be delivered to you confidentially in the closed session.”

He said there will be four questions asked of stakeholders:

1. Tell us some good things about this community.

2. Tell us some good things about the district.

3. What are some things you would like for us to know about regarding the district?

4. What are the skills, characteristics and background that you want in a new superintendent?

The findings are currently scheduled to be presented to the board in a special closed-session meeting on March 25, when trustees also are expected to select interview questions and determine interview procedures, and to discuss the range of issues regarding the contract.

“Not specific, just ranges,” Ferguson said.

The board will meet with the stakeholder facilitator, who has not been selected yet, to review interviews on April 16 and select finalists. May 6, 7 and 8 have been slated as interview days for finalists.

Ferguson suggested the timeline could be compressed, saying April 20, 21 and 22 might work better because “that’s along wait. If we have the candidates (selected) on April 16, some of those candidates on the outside might be looking at other jobs and I think it might be better that we move a little faster so that we don’t lose any potential outside candidates.

“The candidates will be here all day. These are the days the board members need to be here for breakfast, lunch and for the board meeting,” he said.

Two candidates would be present each day of the interview process. During the breakfast meeting one candidate would meet casually with one group of trustees, and the other group at lunch, and the other way around for the other candidate. The interviews would take place in the afternoon.

After that, though it wasn’t listed on the calendar, Ferguson recommended meeting on April 23 or 27 to select a superintendent. But it was later suggested that trustees meet April 29 for that purpose.

“That gives us time for the candidate to talk with your attorney, contracts, etc. That means that any time after May 4 you could introduce/announce the new superintendent,” Ferguson said.

Because there is no regular meeting scheduled for May 7 because of open house events for the district’s elementary schools, it was suggested that a special meeting take place May 6 to announce the new superintendent.

Trustee Diane Ferrucci expressed some concern about compressing the schedule.

“There’s just this one piece going in the back of my head going, ‘There’s 25 other superintendents in the state of California retiring,'” she said. “What’s the practicality of the timeframe?”

“We’re accelerating the timeframe a little bit, but I wouldn’t do it if I thought we couldn’t do it,” Ferguson said.

Dates, once settled, will be on the district’s website, beniciaunified.org.

Trustees also discussed the qualifications and characteristics they were looking for in a new superintendent, among them clear vision, innovation, high ethics and integrity; flexibility in problem solving; visibility in the community; and strong in team building.

“Someone who values relationships, someone who is trustworthy,” Ferrucci added.

“I want a superintendent that is going to propel Benicia to become one of the top ten districts in the state. I believe that Benicia should not be a follower. I want us to be a leader.

“(The new superintendent must) understand the needs, the expectations, the importance of 21st-century learning so that our kids are out there and they are competitive, and that they in fact can be a leader,” she said.

Trustee Andre Stewart voiced a desire for the new superintendent to have an understanding of financial resources.

“If this person gets hit with the same financial wall that Janice (Adams) was hit with, instead of being innovative, we were trying to salvage,” he said, adding, “What do we think the finances are going to be for this person?”

“You want to go forward with the vision regardless of what the finances are,” Ferguson replied.

Trustee Rosie Switzer said she wanted someone who could embrace the district’s current vision and build on it.