FCPS taps firm to lead search for new superintendent
Jan. 12—Frederick County Public Schools has identified the executive search firm that will handle the hunt for its new superintendent.
Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) will conduct the search for FCPS' next leader, who is expected to take the helm by July 1. The district used HYA back in 2010 before hiring former superintendent Terry Alban, who served in the role for more than a decade.
Alban and the school board separated last month, shortly after the U.S. Department of Justice announced an investigation that found FCPS improperly secluded and restrained students with disabilities in violation of federal law.
Mike Markoe, who had been Alban's deputy, is serving as interim superintendent through June 30. He may end up being a candidate for the official job, school board president Brad Young said.
"We don't know," Young said. "It's up to him."
In its search for other potential applicants, HYA will meet with board members and the unions representing FCPS staffers to build a profile for the ideal candidate, Young said. The firm will also hold public forums to gather community input.
Montgomery County Public Schools, which is also seeking a new superintendent, entered into a contract with HYA in September 2021 and officially launched its search in October. Alban's abrupt departure from the school system on Dec. 13 means FCPS is behind in the process.
Young estimated there were another eight or nine districts across the state looking for a superintendent for the next school year, plus other vacancies around the country. That makes it important to streamline the search, he said.
"We want to get going so that we certainly have a choice of whoever it is that's out there looking for positions," Young said. "We want to be ahead of the curve."
HYA led the search for Maryland's state superintendent, Mohammed Choudhury, who was appointed in May 2021. It has led searches in Baltimore, Fairfax (Virginia) and Loudoun (Virginia) counties.
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