The Manhasset school district should find a new superintendent who is accessible, an academic leader and willing to make a long-term commitment to the job, a search firm told the school board on Thursday.
Bob Roelle and Debbie Raizes of the search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates presented their leadership profile report to find a replacement for Manhasset Superintendent Charles Cardillo, who is retiring at the end of the school year.
Roelle and Raizes held focus group meetings, conducted individual interviews and offered an online survey to get an idea of what Manhasset wants from its future superintendent.
“There’s one challenge that stood out above all the rest,” Raizes said. “And that was having to follow Charlie … He is an icon, he’s done an incredible job, he’s someone that everyone really respects.”
The school board hired Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates in November to handle the search for Cardillo’s replacement.
Roelle and Raizes said they had 141 face-to-face meetings for interviews and focus groups within the district, during which they asked about the district’s strengths, challenges and characteristics desired in the next superintendent.
The focus groups included five board of education members, the superintendent, 20 administrators and principals, 32 faculty members, 26 support staff members, 46 parents, school and community group members, as well as 11 students.
There were 388 participants for the online survey consisting of 10 administrators, 110 faculty members, 21 support staff members, 239 parents and community members and 8 students.
Based on Roelle and Raizes’ study, some of the desired characteristics of the upcoming superintendent include trustworthiness, the ability to put the needs of students first, good communication, good listening, humility, a long commitment to the district, academic leadership and approachability.
The study found the new superintendent must always be available, which is a characteristic of Cardillo that was noted, Raizes said.
The ideal candidate has to either be certified as a superintendent or be capable of gaining certification in New York, and must have experience as an accomplished administrator.
Respondents said the strengths of the district include a dedicated and caring faculty, administrators and staff; commitment to and pride in the district from teachers, students; parents’ involvement with education; and a wide range of academics, arts programs, athletics and activities.
Challenges found by the study include making sure opportunities are available for the changing demographics of the Manhasset district; equity among curriculum in the elementary schools; keeping the demanding community satisfied; maintaining and expanding opportunities for students under the state-mandated cap on property tax increases; and the possibility of administrative retirements.
Moving forward with the recruitment process, Roelle and Raizes will advertise the position of Manhasset superintendent both nationally and regionally.
They will meet all candidates in person.
Raizes said she and Roelle expect to meet with 15 to 20 candidates during the selection process. They will then trim the number of applicants to five or six for the board to review.
“We really think that there’s nothing that takes the place of sitting across the table from somebody and spending an hour with them to really get a sense of who they are,” Raizes said.
The superintendent profile report will be available on the Manhasset district’s website after the holiday vacation, according to Raizes.
The online report will go into further detail on what answers were given by each focus group to show how Roelle and Raizes came to their conclusion on the profile of the new superintendent, they said.
Answers presented on the online report will remain anonymous.
Roelle and Raizes expect to have a list of candidates ready for the Manhasset board in January and the board intends to hire a superintendent by July 1.
