Say Yes to Education will scout out superintendent candidates for the Syracuse school board

Syracuse, NY -- A partnership of Say Yes to Education and the Seattle based Cascade Consulting Group will handle the search for a new Syracuse school superintendent, the school board decided late this afternoon. Say Yes to Education is a nonprofit national foundation that is working with the district and Syracuse University to improve the city's schools.The district will pay...

Syracuse, NY -- A partnership of Say Yes to Education and the Seattle based Cascade Consulting Group will handle the search for a new Syracuse school superintendent, the school board decided late this afternoon.

Say Yes to Education is a nonprofit national foundation that is working with the district and Syracuse University to improve the city's schools.The district will pay Cascade $30,000 to do the job and Say Yes will cover any other expenses associated with the search, according to school board President Richard Strong.

Say Yes and Cascade will seek out candidates for the superintendent's job and bring their names to the school board, which does the hiring.

The board advertised for proposals from firms that wanted the job and received two, Strong has said. They were from the Say Yes-Cascade partnership and the Illinois based head-hunting firm of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates. That firm offered to do the job for $22,500 plus expenses, which last time around pushed the cost to about $50,000, Strong said.

Hazard conducted the last three superintendent searches for the district. One reason the board went with Say Yes and Cascade was to have “fresh eyes” on the job, Strong said. Also, Say Yes has a better knowledge of the district’s needs than the other candidate, and Say Yes – Cascade proposed a more thorough and detailed vetting process for candidates, he said.

The next step for the board is to set a timetable for the search process, Strong said. Superintendent Daniel Lowengard’s contract expires at the end of June.

Contact Maureen Nolan at 470-2185 or mnolan@syracuse.com.

» Read a previous story about Say Yes's interest in the superintendent's search.