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Charles County’s Board of Education is starting its search for a new Superintendent of Schools to replace Superintendent James E. Richmond, who has announced he is leaving at the end of the 2012-13 school year.

Consultants from the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) met with Board members Tuesday evening to brief them on the search process and to begin developing a timeline. William Middleton, lead MABE consultant, said the search is a “patience-building process that will not happen overnight.”

Middleton said MABE conducts a transparent, open and fair process for everyone involved. He said there is a confidentiality protocol used to maintain privacy of applicants unless the Board identifies them as a finalist. At that point, Middleton said, names of finalists are released and publicly vetted.

Part of the process involves public forums to gather input from staff, students and the community. The Board asked MABE to conduct five public forums in different areas of the county. MABE is planning to hold the forums, which are open to the general public, in October. MABE will solicit community input about Charles County Public Schools, what characteristics the public thinks the Board should look for in a superintendent and what challenges the public believes the new superintendent will face. Forums will be announced on the Charles County Public Schools website and in the local media, and sent to community groups.

MABE compiles the community input and provides it to Board members to help them develop the criteria and characteristics they want a new superintendent to possess. The information will be used to develop a brochure and advertisements soliciting superintendent candidates. The Board will nationally advertise the position beginning in November and MABE will start screening applications on Dec. 17. The Board hopes to make a final decision and offer by late April 2013.

“We are looking for a superintendent who will come here and stay here. We will look for someone who will meet your needs and stay for an extended period of time,” Middleton said.

Maryland law requires Boards to award a four-year contract, and the new superintendent’s term would begin July 1, 2013 and end June 30, 2017.

Tentative Timeline

Board meets with MABE consultants to develop timeline and search process.

Community residents, students and staff will have the opportunity to share input at five regional public forums. Ideas and opinions from these forums will be incorporated into the brochure and advertisements describing the job opening and used to develop the criteria and characteristics the Board will look for in a new superintendent.

Position advertising begins. Brochure and application will be mailed out and posted on the Charles County Public Schools website. Position advertising will be on a local, state and national level.

Application review by MABE begins on Dec. 17. Position remains open until filled.

Board announces finalists. Candidates visit Charles County and are interviewed by stakeholder focus groups.

Board expected to make announcement of final selection by end of month.

New superintendent begins.

Richmond notified the Board of Education in April that he does not plan to ask for renewal of his contract in 2013. The 17-year superintendent is a former Maryland Superintendent of the Year and took the top job in Charles County Public Schools in 1996 as interim superintendent. He was appointed to his first four-year term as superintendent in 1997, and he will complete his fourth term in June 2013.

The Board of Education in May voted to contract with MABE to assist with the search for a new superintendent.

Charles County Public Schools provides 26,700 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 35 caring community schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Patricia Vaira, Title IX Coordinator and Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Keith Hettel, Section 504 Coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, central office building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, Maryland 20646. 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.