Austin ISD's Board of Trustees is poised to select a search firm to find the next superintendent for the district on Jan. 26.
A request for proposals was released by the trustees to help find a permanent superintendent. The RFP closed on Jan. 10 and trustees reported that five firms responded. Those firms are Ray and Associates Inc., Alma Advisory Group, Eugene Associates PC, McPherson Jacobson LLC and GR Recruiting.
The next step will be for trustees to review and evaluate those proposals from all five firms. Trustee Noelita Lugo, At-Large Position 8, said during the Jan. 12 informational board meeting that trustees will meet Jan. 13 and narrow down the number of search firms in the running. A short list of two or three search firms will be invited to give oral presentations on Jan. 17.
"By Jan. 23, we will submit recommendations as to which search firm we'd like to select," Lugo said during the meeting.
Three days later, on Jan. 26, the board will vote on the recommendations and finalize which search firm is selected. The fee for the services of the search firm will be disclosed when selected, and will include advertisement of the job, community engagement, travel and other related items, said District 9 Trustee and Board President Arati Singh.
"Hopefully, the search for the next superintendent will begin in early February," Lugo said.
The search for a permanent superintendent began in May 2022 after Stephanie Elizalde was named the lone finalist for superintendent of Dallas ISD and accepted the job. In June, Anthony Mays was named interim superintendent, but accepted a job as superintendent at a Houston-area district in November. A new interim superintendent was named, Matias Segura, at a board meeting on Dec. 15. Trustees said they hope to have a permanent superintendent named by the summer.
