Taylor Independent School District is looking for its next superintendent to stay with the district for the long haul.
JG Consulting, the searching firm that is leading the efforts to find quality superintendent candidates for Taylor ISD, shared their results from community stakeholder meetings with the board of trustees during a special meeting Monday, Sept 5.
One of the characteristics the school board will prioritize among applicants with its leadership profile is a desire to stay in Taylor for at least three years.
“I can guarantee you our district is a destination district, especially with Samsung and the growth that’s coming our way,” said Marco Ortiz, president of the district’s board of trustees. “It’s an opportunity for someone to take to grow with our district.”
Other desired qualities listed in the superintendent application, which is open online on the consulting firm’s website, include being an effective communicator, budget management skills and the ability to work collaboratively with others.
While the application lists having a doctoral degree is preferred, it is not a requirement to apply.
Additionally, the district will accept applications of those who have not served as a superintendent before. Each applicant must apply through the website to ensure fairness.
Ortiz said trustees will be very intentional about requiring the proper materials from each application to be considered.
Superintendent hopefuls must submit a letter of interest, their resume, reference list, college transcripts and complete additional online items.
“We expect individuals that want to be here are going to provide us all the information we are requiring to be considered,” Ortiz said. “So, it’s like if you’ve left something out, you don’t want to be here. That’s sort of our perspective.”
Applicants can apply for the position until the application closes Oct. 6. The consulting firm will then present the school board their recommended applicants Oct. 10.
Interviews will begin Oct. 17. After two rounds of interviews, the district will name a lone finalist Oct. 24.
For now, Ortiz said the process is slow. With the application window open for a month, candidates probably won’t submit their materials until around the last week.
“We were two weeks into it during the last search, and we had probably 15 applicants,” Ortiz said. “We ended up having over 40 candidates apply in the last two weeks.”
Once the mandatory 21-day waiting period concludes, Taylor ISD’s next superintendent can sign with the district.
