NV, CAM boards interview three search firms

Three search firms received the full attention of Nodaway Valley and Cumberland-Anita-Massena (CAM) school board members during interviews held Wednesday, Jan. 15 in the Nodaway Valley High School Media Center.

The two boards are looking for a firm that can help them hire their next superintendent, who ideally would begin their new role here July 1.

Nodaway Valley holds the contract of Superintendent Paul Croghan now but wants to include CAM with each step of the upcoming search and hiring process because of the strong potential that CAM could continue sharing a superintendent with NV.

CAM leaders have not explicitly said whether they do or don’t want to keep sharing with Nodaway Valley. They have participated in multiple joint meetings with NV and have stated that going forward, improved communication is one piece they would like to see improved. They also want to revisit how much of the salary each district would be responsible for. Right now, the agreement is split evenly.

The three firms interviewed included Grundmeyer Leader Services of Huxley; Edwise of Alta and McPherson and Jacobsen of Omaha, Nebraska. Each were given 30 minutes to present. The last of the three gave its presentation via video conferencing. Cost of the firms ranged from $7,500 to $14,500, some including the cost of travel in the base price but others not.

While some of the proposals were worded differently, each of the search firms emphasized how they would help a hiring process for the district from start to finish. They would include focus groups that include the community, they would help the district plan for how to interview applicants and how to compensate their eventual hire. They would help the district generate goals for the district and whoever they hire. They would continue to support the eventual superintendent even following their hire.

CAM and NV were scheduled to meet Wednesday, Jan. 22 at CAM Middle School in Massena to hopefully choose a search firm.

During last week’s meeting, Nodaway Valley’s board discussed the search process extensively, generating a list of unknowns they would like to cover with CAM leaders moving forward.

Iowa school districts can receive up to a combined 21 points in operational sharing, which is then tied to special funding from the state. NV and CAM share that amount of positions, with superintedent carrying the most weight and funding with nine points.

“I feel like the meeting went very well. I feel everyone got their questions answered and I think we have three solid candidates of firms to help us with this process,” NV Board President Kristen Jensen said. “The next steps, for sure, will be for each of the boards to get together, talk about the firms, everyone’s takeaways, discuss what our needs and wants and hopefully move forward with a search firm pick because we want to get that ball rolling.”