The Kearney School District is ready to find its next leader following the Board of Education's selection of EGL Association to facilitate the superintendent search process.

*We're very confident that EGL is the right team and are eager to work with them to find and recruit the right leader for Kearney School District - Board President Mark Kelly*

The Board members chose EGL unanimously during a special meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at the District Administrative Office. That vote followed in-person presentations by and interviews with representatives from EGL and the Missouri School Board Association (MSBA).

Four executive-search firms replied to the Board's request for proposals to lead the process of identifying and attracting high-quality superintendent candidates for the job in Kearney. The Board members scored each proposal packet and narrowed their consideration down to EGL and MSBA.

"We were very pleased with the quality of proposals that we received from each of the four firms," Board President Mark Kelly said. "We're very confident that EGL is the right team and are eager to work with them to find and recruit the right leader for Kearney School District."

Kelly cited EGL's extensive experience in educational leadership and the team's extraordinary connections with a large pool of high-quality superintendent candidates as the primary reasons for the Board's selection.

"They work closely with superintendent candidates and many are folks who they work with on a frequent basis," Kelly said. "EGL will be able to make those connections for us and help evaluate their fit for KSD."

EGL will lead a series of focus group meetings in November with KSD stakeholders to identify the qualities they are looking for in their next superintendent. These meetings will include KSD staff, parents/guardians and community members.

The Board plans to interview superintendent candidates by early December and is prepared to consider a hiring recommendation later that month, according to Kelly. This expedited timeline in part reflects the fact that there are currently several open superintendent positions in Missouri.

"We hope to stay ahead of schedule with this search process so that we're attracting the very best candidates," Kelly said.

Superintendent search updates will be posted to the Board of Education section of the KSD website at ksdr1.net/board-of-education.

KPGZ News - Ray Weikal with the Kearney School District contributed to this story