The Austin ISD board of trustees is narrowing down its search for a firm to help it find a new permanent superintendent.

At its May 19 meeting, the board reached consensus that it wants to pursue contract negotiations with one of the two firms it heard presentations from last week—Ray and Associates and ECRA Group–Hazard, Young, Attea, & Associates. Trustees did not refer to the chosen firm by name.

Trustee Robert Schneider said he was uncertain about hiring the search firm the rest of the board members supported. The board will continue to discuss hiring a search firm at upcoming meetings.

James Sessions, director of contract and procurement services for AISD, said the firm will likely start services June 9.

In the meantime, a few attendees spoke during citizens communication about what they want the board to look for in superintendent candidates.

Thomas Miranda, the chairman of the board of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said the GAHCC wants the local education system to embody the "standard of leadership and excellence" set by Austin as a city. He pointed out more than half of AISD students are classified as economically disadvantaged, and more than 60 percent of students are Hispanic.

"Our new leader in AISD must be passionate about advancing equity in education for Hispanics along with all AISD students," he said. "It is also imperative that the new leader understand and relate to the diverse and vibrant populations of Austin in general, including the culture of Hispanics and financially disadvantaged students."

Attendee Meghan Dougherty said the Windsor Park neighborhood school committee wants to see a superintendent who will hire and train more parent support specialists, continue AISD's dual-language program, and add more emphasis on neighborhood schools.

"We'd like the new superintendent to encourage parents to send their children to their neighborhood schools instead of sending them across town," she said. "The current system feeds into the notion that some schools are low-performing and bad, so those parents with the resources or advocacy move their children out. It creates self-segregation by income, which could have ramifications for our city."

The district has established a superintendent search website where community members can provide the board with additional feedback.