PSUSD selects search firm, plans community input for superintendent hiring

The Palm Springs Unified School District Board of Education voted Monday to hire Educational Support Services Group (ESS) to lead the search for a new superintendent, with hopes to complete the process by early July.

The board voted 4-0 with one abstention to select ESS over McPherson Jacobson, LLC after hearing presentations from both firms during a special meeting Monday afternoon. Terms of the contract will still need to be hammered out.

ESS representatives Gary Rutherford, Mike Matthews, and Lillian Maldonado French outlined a comprehensive process that will include extensive community engagement in developing the leadership profile for the district’s next top administrator.

“Our job is to figure out exactly what you’re looking for as a fit and deliver that person to you,” said Rutherford, who will serve as the lead consultant. Rutherford is a former superintendent of Desert Sands Unified School District and a current resident of La Quinta

The search process will include focus groups, community forums in multiple languages, individual interviews with key stakeholders, and an online survey available in both English and Spanish.

Before the board selected a firm, Palm Springs Teachers Association President Karen Johnson expressed appreciation for the its transparent approach to the superintendent search and advocated for continued collaboration with employee groups.

“We have been very fortunate in the past to have amazing people at our helm,” Johnson said. “I would really appreciate the opportunity to include the associations, Teamsters and Palm Springs Teachers Association in this process.”

Johnson praised the district’s existing collaborative practice for principal hiring, where input is gathered from various stakeholders.

“When we hire a principal for a school, we do site visits and we do surveys of our parents, our students, our staff, and we take everybody’s input into account,” she said as she encouraged the board to maintain an inclusive approach for the superintendent selection.

The selected firm’s community engagement plan appears to align with Johnson’s request. ESS representatives said they would meet with labor partners, parent groups, student groups, district leaders, and various advisory councils to gather input.

“You have a diverse district, you’re a wide-spanning district, and we think that the three of us will be very busy as we’re talking with the people out there,” Rutherford told the board.

Once a contract is signed, ESS will develop a leadership profile based on community input that will guide the recruitment and selection process. The firm plans to advertise the position nationally through multiple platforms, as well as through professional networks and associations.

The timeline presented by ESS suggests the board could select its next superintendent shortly after current Superintendent Tony Signoret retires at the end of June if the process begins immediately, though representatives emphasized they would not rush a decision if more time was needed.

“This is doable, but there may be things we don’t know about right now,” Rutherford said, noting that there are dozens of districts looking for new superintendents, but that Palm Springs is an attractive location.

“We don’t want to rush to make the wrong decision,” he emphasized.

After a superintendent is selected, ESS will facilitate a transition workshop with the board and new leader, and will continue to provide support during the transition period.

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