After interviewing four search firms last week, the District 208 school board has narrowed down it choice to two finalists as it begins the process of searching for a new superintendent for Riverside-Brookfield High School.
The school board will likely hold a special meeting on Aug.11 to interview the two finalists: Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates and B.W.P. and Associates. That is also when it is expected they will announce which firm they will hire.
“We were hoping to wrap this up this week, but we couldn’t get a couple of the lead people who we were going to be in contact with in to talk to us, and we really want to talk to these people in person before we make any kind of a decision with regard to their firms,” said District 208 school board President James Marciniak.
Just one day before his firm’s interview with the school board Hazard, Young’s chief executive officer accepted a position in California. Bill Attea, a name partner, will take over and work with RB if his firm is hired. Attea was not able to meet with the RB school board last week.
Tom Mullins of B.W.P was also on vacation when his firm met with the school board.
Libertyville-based B.W.P. and Glenview-based Hazard, Young, Attea are two of the biggest firms in the industry.
The school board also interviewed the Illinois Association of School Boards and the firm School Exec Connect.
Marciniak declined to say what about the two finalists made them stand out to the board.
“I don’t have a comment on that,” Marciniak said.
Hazard, Young, Attea was hired by Lyons Township High School District 204 last year to conduct the search for a replacement for retiring Superintendent Dennis Kelly. That search did not go well, with the District 204 school board ultimately rejecting the list of finalists presented to it. The firm ultimately redid the search, and in March LT hired an in-house candidate, their then head of human resources, for the job.
Hazard, Young conducted the search that brought Jonathan Lamberson to Riverside District 96.
B.W.P. is a combination of three firms. One of its predecessor firms, the Bickert Group, conducted the search that brought Jack Baldermann to RB in 2001.
