Gilbert Public Schools picks firm to lead superintendent search
Screen capture from YouTube
Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board President Chad Thompson, left, and the board have hired a search firm to find a replacement for retiring Superintendent Shane McCord, right.
Gilbert Public Schools has selected McPherson & Jacobson as the firm that will guide its search for a new superintendent.
The Governing Board voted unanimously Sept. 15 to hire the Omaha, Nebraska-based executive search firm.
Governing Board President Chad Thompson said the board weighed several considerations, with prior work in Arizona being a key reason McPherson stood out. Among the districts for which the firm has conducted searches are Dysart, Peoria and Scottsdale unified school districts and Mesa Public Schools.
“For me personally and for quite a few other board members, it was their experience in Arizona,” he said. “That was a big factor.”
He added that the board considered how Chandler Unified had already hired a different firm, Hazard Young Attea and Associates, and Gilbert did not want to risk conflicts between two major searches happening simultaneously.
“We just thought that there maybe could be some potential conflicts there that could disrupt either of our searches,” Thompson said.
Thompson also emphasized the importance of thoroughness in selecting the firm.
“We really want to make sure that we are using all resources to prevent any potential (problems) and not have to do this again in a year or two,” he said.
Higley Unified School District used a search firm, Ray and Associates, in the 2023-24 school year to find a replacement for Dawn Foley, who had resigned suddenly. That search resulted in the initial selection of Nate Carman from the Socorro Independent School District in El Paso, Texas, but the contract was rescinded when Carman was suspended at SISD because of a suspected conflict of interest in purchasing decisions.
McPherson & Jacobson is an established national search firm that has conducted hundreds of superintendent searches across the country. The firm is known for its emphasis on community engagement, often conducting focus groups and surveys to gather input from parents, staff and community members before building a candidate profile.
Gilbert’s decision comes at a pivotal time, as the district prepares to search for a successor to Superintendent Shane McCord, who is departing at the end of this school year. The new hire will be tasked with leading one of Arizona’s largest school districts, which serves more than 30,000 students across 39 schools.
Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@inusua.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on X.
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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