College Community hires search firm for new superintendent

Board directors at College Community School District didn't waste any time setting to the task of finding a replacement for retiring Superintendent Dick Whitehead.

Directors hired a company to manage the search for a successor and set a timetable for the hiring process during a special board meeting Wednesday, less than a week after Whitehead announced he would be leaving the district in June 2012.

The board voted unanimously to hire G. Tryon and Associates, a Johnston-based education consulting company that managed the district's previous superintendent hiring process, as well as the recent hiring of Joe Crozier as chief administrator at the Grant Wood Area Education Agency.

Tryon was the only consulting firm that board directors met with prior to making a decision, and will receive about $12,000 plus expenses for its services. In comparison, the Iowa City Community School District paid search firm Hazard, Young, Attea, & Associates $16,000 during its 2009-20010 superintendent search.

Immediately after voting, board members set to the task of picking concrete dates for the hiring process. Tryon will begin advertising the position this weekend, with the end goal of the board making a final decision during a closed session Feb. 25, 2012.

"This is the most important thing we will ever do as a school board," said President Randy Bauer.