Ken McLemore

HOPE – The Hope Public Schools Board of Education agreed Thursday in a special morning meeting to contract with an Omaha, Neb., consulting firm for search services to employ a new superintendent for the district.

“The board has elected to hire the company of McPherson Jacobson to help in the process of hiring our next superintendent,” Board President Linda Haynes said. “They have a proven track record of working with schools in Arkansas and the entire U.S. through this process. We are confident we will have a quality pool of applicants from within and outside of the district, and they will assist in the rigorous process of vetting applicants. All inquiries regarding applications should go through them.”

McPherson Jacobson, LLC, specializes in executive recruitment and superintendent searches for school districts nationwide, and operates nine recruitment offices in Arkansas, according to the company website. The company has been conducting executive searches in public education since 1991.

The board also delayed the appointment of a board member for Zone 3 with the agreement of Zone 3 Representative Margaret Moss to remain with the board until after the superintendent’s position is filled. Mrs. Moss has announced she will retire from the board this year but has not formally stepped down.

The board agreed Thursday to a draft for a process which will start with advertisement of the superintendent’s position and developing stakeholder and community information. A timeline for stakeholder and group meetings will follow.

A closing date for applications is anticipated in mid-May with a selection of finalist candidates later in the month. Interviews toward a selection of a new superintendent are anticipated at the end of May and first of June.

The draft process anticipates a July 1 starting date for a new superintendent.

HPS Superintendent Dr. Bobby Hart has accepted the superintendent’s position in the Searcy, Arkansas, public schools and is to begin there July 1.