Addison Community Schools aiming to hire new superintendent by July 1

ADDISON — The groundwork was laid on Tuesday for Addison Community Schools’ new superintendent search timeline.

If everything as part of the timeline goes according to plan, the school district, which averages 70-80 graduates each year and totaled an enrollment of 717 students in the 2022-23 school year, will have a full-time superintendent in place by July 1, ready to go heading into the 2024-25 academic year.

A superintendent search workshop took place Tuesday during a special meeting of the Addison Board of Education. Assisting the district with its new superintendent search is Randy Liepa, an educational consultant with the Michigan Leadership Institute (MLI) who also is in progress with neighboring Onsted Community Schools and its superintendent search that is approaching the first round of candidate interviews this week.

From a proximity standpoint, the Onsted and Addison districts are close, Liepa said, and from a community standpoint they also are similar.

“There could potentially be some overlap in the people who are interested (for the superintendent position at either district),” he said.

Every school district is different, though, and has its own needs, he added.

“It will be interesting when we do the candidate profile (in Addison) to see how much different it is (than Onsted’s). There are often similarities, but there will be some differences, too,” Liepa said. “That’s important because you are trying to find that right fit. That community fit is an important part of this whole process.”

The end of the school year is a good time for a district to be looking for its leadership, Liepa added. Some educators and administrators are searching for a career change or a new opportunity heading into the following school year.

“At the end of the school year its sort of a natural time for change,” he said.

The superintendent job posting is to be completed and published online through the assistance of MLI by Tuesday, April 23. The Addison board opted to keep the job posting within state, as opposed to allowing MLI to send the available school leadership position nationally, which would have come with an added fee on top of the $6,200 charge for consulting services.

More: Addison Community Schools begins new superintendent search

Because of some time constraints this summer among board members, the job posting is to remain open through May 17, as opposed to an entire month, which is typically how long a posting will remain available for applying, Liepa said.

During the week of May 20 is when the school board will convene to look over the candidates who applied and make their initial selections. The dates of May 29 and May 30 are being set aside as the two days for conducting the first round of candidate interviews.

Second round interviews are scheduled for June 3, with a secondary date of June 4. The second round interviews — at the discretion of the school board — could include a presentation of some sort from the candidates, as well as site visits to the Addison campus and a meet-and-greet with staff, students and community members.

Current Addison Superintendent Dan Bauer, who was hired by the district in September 2023, is resigning because of an unexpected death in his family. He has previously said his plans are to spend as much time with his family in northern Michigan after his son-in-law's unexpected death. His final day with the district is on June 30, but if he needs to stay beyond that date to serve as a form of consultant to the new superintendent, he will do that, according to Addison Board of Education President Andrea Woodring.

“I’m still getting over Dan (Bauer) leaving but I have a good feeling about working with MLI,” Woodring said. “I’m excited with the organization skills, the demeanor, plan, flexibility. I like the whole package.”

As part of search process, Liepa will work alongside the school board, as well as district staff, students and the community to gauge several factors of the district including what strengths and weaknesses Addison has; where there can be room for improvement; and what stakeholders want from a new superintendent of schools.

More: Addison superintendent to resign following death in family

These responses — collected by Liepa through in person focus groups and online surveys — will be useful in compiling what’s called the candidate profile.

“It gives me a pretty good picture of where the district is at and where people’s heads are at,” he said of the focus groups and the surveys. “... When you build this (candidate) profile, you are looking for someone who will be a good fit for the community, and who also meets all necessary requirements.”

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The week of May 6 is being considered for the days when Addison will hold its focus groups, all of which will be open to staff and community participation. All data from the focus groups and surveys will need to be compiled before the week of May 20, when the board starts to look over and consider the applicants.

Having MLI and Liepa meet face-to-face with staff and the community is one of the most important parts of the superintendent search process, Woodring said.

“I want everybody to have an opinion,” she said.

— Contact reporter Brad Heineman at bheineman@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: www.twitter.com/LenaweeHeineman.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Addison Community Schools aiming to hire new superintendent by July 1