Palm Beach County School Board members agreed unanimously Wednesday to hire Ray and Associates, a veteran superintendent search firm based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Here are four things you should know about them.
1. They brought Robert Runcie to Broward County
Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie (center)
Much has been made of the fact that the company helped Broward County hire Robert Runcie as superintendent there in 2011.
Runcie, who previously had worked in Chicago’s public school system, is well-regarded in education circles.
Palm Beach County’s school board clearly would like a similar “star hire.”
2. Their search will cost $37,000, plus expenses.
Of the three finalists to lead the search, Ray and Associates was neither the most expensive, nor the cheapest.
One firm wanted to charge $40,000, while another would have billed just $25,000.
But school board members said they thought Ray and Associates was the best choice regardless of price.
3. They say their ranking system “takes the subjectivity” out of search
Ray and Associates says it uses a “matrix” to rank its candidates based on board members’ stated preferences.
A company official says that it “takes the subjectivity out of the selection process.”
The ranking helps to avoid making hiring decisions based on conscious or unconscious biases.
“The matrix process takes that out,” the company official said. “You compare candidate to candidate.”
4. If dissatisfied, the next search is free
It’s not exactly a money-back guarantee, but it’s close.
If the school board decides it doesn’t like its new superintendent within the first two years, Ray and Associates says it will find another one for free, or almost for free.
As school board member Mike Murgio quipped on Wednesday:
