Merced school district will interview ‘some possible rock stars’ for new superintendent

The lengthy search for the Merced City School District’s next superintendent is taking a major step this week with candidates coming in for interviews on Friday and Saturday.

The Merced City School District Board members will interview 10 candidates over the next two days, according to board president Allen Brooks.

“I’m excited about the possibilities, we have some possible rock stars in this bunch,” Brooks said. “We have some people who have proven their work as far as being innovative and we have some people who would fit wonderful into our district.”

The school district — which includes 11,500 students and about 1,400 staff and 18 schools — has been operating without a permanent leader in place since the board fired former superintendent Diana Jimenez during a special board meeting on April 25, 2023. Jimenez was terminated after less than a year serving as superintendent in the district.

Associate Superintendent Brian Meisenheimer has been acting superintendent since Jimenez’s dismissal.

Jimenez was selected as superintendent after former MCSD superintendent Richard “Al” Rogers resigned on July 1, 2021, following a civil complaint filed against him alleging sexual harassment.

Since January of 2020, MCSD has had four people fill the role of superintendent.

“I think this will be one of the most important things we do as a collective board, which is picking the next superintendent and we’re all excited,” Brooks said.

“We’re more than a year past with an acting superintendent, so it’s exciting for the district,” Brooks said. “We have been stable, we have been moving forward, but to get a leader, to get someone who can give us our identity, our goals and lead us into the next phase as a district is very exciting.”

Brooks said they hope to find two to four finalists for the position after this first round of interviews.

The goal is for the board to name the new superintendent at the June 11 board meeting and for the new leader to start on July 1.

Long process

Merced City Teachers Association President Diane Pust said the hiring process has been like “walking through molasses.”

“Things are still going in slow motion,” Pust said. “I’m excited to get a leader. We have district office positions that need to be filled. We have principal position that are going to need to be filled. We’re going to need more learning directors.”

Pust feels like many people have been left in the dark through the hiring process. She said she didn’t find out until this week that candidates were being interviewed.

“Very frustrated, it would be very helpful to know the clear road map the board is following and the timeline they are following,” Pust said. “Which stakeholders are a part of this process? It just seems like they haven’t been very transparent through the process.”

The hiccup

The search for the new superintendent stalled last fall when the school board fired the search firm McPherson and Jacobsen, LLC. in September.

In a split vote, board president Allen Brooks and board members Birdi Olivarez-Kidwell and Jessee Espinosa voted to terminate the contract of McPherson and Jacobsen.

Two board members — Beatrice McCutchen and Priya Lakireddy — voted against the move.

The board hired the Cosca Group in November to restart the search.

“The first search firm, it wasn’t going right, we pivoted,” Brooks said. “We hired a second search firm, we got enough candidates from the search. Even though we had a hiccup, I think we’ve done the correct things to put ourselves, and the district in a wonderful place for the next superintendent with the expectations that this is a longevity term. This is a three- to five-year term. We need some leadership and we need stability.”

Lakireddy was contacted by Sun-Star for her thoughts on the superintendent search and upcoming interviews, but she said she was instructed by the board that only the board president should act as a spokesperson for the board.

District issues

The new superintendent will have to come in and tackle some of the issues facing the district. There are a number of positions in the district office that need to be filled, including director of pupil services and director of fiscal services. There will be at least three principal positions open in the district.

There is also schools on the north side of Merced with enrollments approaching 700 or more students, like Rivera Elementary, Chenoweth, Peterson and Burbank. Rivera Elementary has had to use Rivera Middle School classrooms this year.

There is also the decision looming on whether to move sixth graders back to middle school campuses.

“I think a lot is at stake,” Pust said. “There’s the academic progress of our students, dealing with the continuing growth of our district. We have overcrowding at our north side schools. What are our plans moving forward to give our students the best education and to make sure our teachers have the proper training? We have plans ready to put in motion but without someone to lead it feels stagnant.”

Brooks says the board is focused on making the right hire and making sure the next superintendent has the support in place to be successful.

“The board understands how important it is to get this right,” Brooks said. “We’ve done everything we possibly can as far as community input, stakeholders input, as far as listening to the community, so we’re doing everything in our power to make sure that we get this right.”