Ferndale Schools Superintendent Search Underway
(Crystal A. Proxmire, April 10, 2014)
Who will be the next Superintendent of Ferndale Schools? This question is the focus of the Ferndale School Board as they embark on their search for their next top administrator. After 14 years of service, Superintendent Gary Meier announced his retirement in May. He’ll be finishing out the school year, with his last day being June 30.
In keeping with a theme of a very public and community-driven search process, the district’s website has a page dedicated to information about the search, including invitations for participation.
On April 14 at 5:30 pm a special meeting of the Ferndale Public Schools Board of Education will be held to review and consider Policy Committee recommendation for contracting with a search firm.
Board President Jim O’Donnell believes Monday’s meeting should be an enriching one for the district. “As we enter the next phase of our superintendent search, the school board is pleased to have several very good choices from which to choose a search firm,” he said. “All three of the firms that the Policy Committee interviewed would be capable of helping the board and the Ferndale Public Schools community find the most qualified pool of superintendent candidates.
“On Monday evening, the board will decide which consultant is the best fit for our specific needs. 
We ask the community and staff to watch for parent, community and staff meetings in which the selected consultant will gather information on the qualities that we want to see in the next superintendent. From that information, the board will develop a candidate profile and the consultant will begin recruiting for the position.”
The public is 
encouraged to come to the Monday meeting. There are also parent and community meetings are tentatively scheduled to provide feedback to the selected search firm to assist them with the development of criteria for the selection of the new superintendent. Those tentative dates are:
~PTSA meeting at the high school on April 15, 2014 6:00 pm
~Parent meeting – High School Auditorium, April 16, 7:00 pm
~Community Meeting – High School Auditorium, April 23, 7:00 pm
~Meetings will also be held with employees throughout this process.
In the early stages, the Board will determine what qualities 
the new superintendent should have. The goal is to have a job posting up effective May 2014. They plan to conduct first and second round interviews, in public meetings, by the end of June 2014, and possibly hire an interim Superintendent if one is needed to ensure smooth district operations.
For the most current information on the search process, visit the Ferndale Schools website at http://www.ferndaleschools.