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At a Williamson County Schools work session, board members agreed they leaned toward a confidential search process to hire the next superintendent of the district. 

Work sessions do not include binding votes but discussions regarding upcoming decisions. 

“It is really important for board members not to take any position on any candidate throughout this process. As a board, candidates listen very closely to what you say. To get the deepest pool, we want them to feel that this process is fully open,” said Jeff Melendez, Founder and CEO of ZEAL. 

ZEAL is the firm partnering with the Williamson County School Board to find a superintendent. In the Oct. 8 work session, Melendez took time to go over the logistics of working with the board moving forward. 

“If we go the confidential route, that confidentiality starts in this room because if someone gets disclosed who doesn’t want to be disclosed, we might as well not have done this. So be very careful with who you talk to and what you do,” board attorney Sam Jackson said. 

Board expectations for ZEAL

The board wants ZEAL to deal in detail with community engagement.

“The single most important issue to me is the community engagement that we’ve got to get the district, the board, and the entire community on board for this selection,” District 3 board member Dennis Driggers said.  

Other areas of expectation include conducting interviews with appropriate questions and training board members on proper legal and ethical decisions. 

They agreed that internal and external candidates will be evaluated on the same criteria, with a three-year contract limit for the final candidate. There will be regular updates in the district In Focus newsletter.

ZEAL’s plan

ZEAL plans to put together a leadership profile. This information comes from Williamson County community members.

“We’re gonna talk to them about what’s important to them about the schools, what things they want to preserve, what things they want to change, and we’re gonna create a document,” Melendez said. 

It is a 12- to 15-page document that uses the community input to make the description of the superintendent opportunity. 

There is also a ThoughtExchange platform, which will open up a week before the community stakeholder engagement happens, so that people have time to consider their responses. 

The document gives stakeholders a way to share what their top priority for the next superintendent of schools is.

The board mentions teachers and staff, families and students, community organizations, and special-education-related groups, including teacher assistants and support professionals, as people who should be heard in the process. They suggested identifying local organizations and existing events that could help reach people.

They plan to have a preferred candidate by April 19, 2027, with May 17, 2027, as a possible deadline for board approval of a contract.