A consultant can provide experience, divert animosities that might arise during bargaining away from local administrators, and be a source of information that the board can have confidence in. (Author/IRT)

Warns of the conflicts of interest that are possible when a professor of educational administration is used as a consultant in the search for a new superintendent and offers suggestions for avoiding pitfalls. (IRT)

Cautions against school districts blaming taxpayer revolt" when school tax support campaign methods have not been changed in a decade or more. (EA)

Four search consultants, people whose job it is to match superintendents with school boards, expressed reservations about formally coaching the school board and the newly appointed superintendent. (MLF)

Argues that school boards should use outside "management auditors" to help assess operational effectiveness, especially in five areas: internal financial auditing, personnel and payroll, purchasing, construction and repairs, and data processing. Suggests guidelines for hiring management auditors and lists 11 firms that perform management…

Answers questions about how to choose, use, and evaluate a professional negotiator. (IRT)

When hiring a search consultant to recruit superintendent candidates, school boards must consider more than reputation and reliability. This article discusses several important considerations, including availability, possible conflicts of interest, and techniques used to construct superintendent profiles, advertise the position, and reduce the…

Provides step-by-step instructions on how to choose a design consultant for developing building renovation or new building plans. Includes a sample interview form and a sample group evaluation form. (MD)

Outlines 11 suggestions for guiding boards in selection of a new superintendent. Important in the process are: setting aside the time and resources, establishing qualifications, and ensuring confidentiality and objectivity during the search. (MD)

Contends that outside management auditors would be "snoops," that using them would indicate a school board's lack of trust and promote divisiveness among employees, and that management audits are based on the false ideas that schools can be run like businesses and that boards do not know their responsibilities. (RW)

Poses ten questions representing typical situations involving consultants, each designed to illustrate an important ethical point. (Author/IRT)

Increasingly, school boards are using consultants to help them hire the right superintendents for their school systems. Proposes extending the consultants' contracts to coaching both board and superintendents on developing an effective working relationship. (MLF)

Despite the variation in fees, the actual services most superintendent search consultants provide are remarkably similar. Price differences reflect the size of a consultant's network and track record. Recommends matching fee ranges with an appropriate category of consultant and basing selection on a 10-step process of consultant services. (CJH)

Responses from over 500 practicing superintendents in New York State reveal that the majority (1) have a strong desire to be leaders; (2) heard about the opening through an advertisement; (3) view consultants in the selection process appropriate only as technical experts; and (4) urge school board members to become more involved in the…