SACRAMENTO, CA – The Sacramento City Unified School District’s (SCUSD) Board of Education has completed its schedule of town hall meetings and finalized results of its online survey that sought community input on the desired qualities in a new superintendent. Eight meetings were held at schools and locations throughout the district with participation from over 372 attendees that represented a broad and diverse group of parents, students, staff and community members. Comments from each town hall are posted on the district website.

A total of 411 online surveys also were completed. The results showed the majority of respondents indicated that finding someone that can bring the community together toward a strong vision of student achievement was the most important quality for the next superintendent. Additionally, respondents clearly stated they want the next superintendent to have a proven track record of strong academic achievement for all students, including special needs children, English language learners and children in poverty. The full survey results are posted here.

The survey results and feedback gathered at town hall meetings will be shared with candidates being interviewed for the position. This information will help guide the board’s questioning as they learn more about the candidates and their qualifications to meet the district’s needs and priorities.

Twenty-eight candidates applied for the superintendent position. The board met on Sunday, March 26 to review the applications and narrow down the pool of candidates. A small pool of candidates will participate in two separate interview panels in early April—one panel consisting of board members, and the other consisting of key district stakeholders that are invited and include Mayor Darrell Steinberg representing the City of Sacramento, the SCUSD’s LCAP Parent Advisory Committee (PAC), Community Advisory Committee (CAC), District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC), and SCUSD’s five labor partners.

The names of candidates to be interviewed will not be publicly disclosed to protect confidentiality. Board members and stakeholders participating on interview panels also will be required to sign confidentiality agreements stating they will not disclose the names of interviewed candidates. The district requests members of the media and public to please refrain from asking board members or interview panelists to disclose the names of those interviewed. If a board member or panelist shares this information with the press or any member of the public, it would constitute a breach of their non-disclosure agreement with the district. The announcement of whom is to be appointed to the position will be publicly made by the board when contract terms are negotiated and approved with this individual at a regularly scheduled board meeting.

The following timeline outlines the next steps in the process:

March 29^th – Search committee invites district partners to participate on an interview panel.

Early April – Candidates interview with both panels (board and district partners) at a special board meeting (date to be announced).

Late April or May – Board appoints new superintendent and votes to approve a final contract.

Since beginning its efforts in February, the school board has strived to achieve the following goals throughout this process:

• Listen to community members and gather their input on the desirable qualities of a superintendent for SCUSD.
• Be inclusive and ensure that a broad and diverse group of stakeholders is invited to participate in the process.
• Explain how community input will be used during the hiring process.
• Educate the community about the important role of the superintendent.
• Share the feedback gathered from the 2014 superintendent search meetings and determine if that feedback still applies today.
• Be transparent about the board’s hiring process and timeline.

Current Superintendent José Banda announced at the January 19 board meeting that he would not seek renewal of his three-year contract which ends June 30. Banda was hired in July 2014 to lead the district of 43,000 students and 4,200 employees. Sacramento City Unified is one of the oldest public school districts in California and has seventy-seven K-12 and adult education campuses. For more information related to the superintendent search, and to view community feedback from each town hall, visit: http://www.scusd.edu/superintendent-search.