Consultants hired to find new chief of schools

Officials hope to process search by April

The Gary School Board’s hunt for a superintendent is expected to be completed in April, officials said Thursday after the board hired a Chicago-area consulting firm.

The board unanimously hired BWP & Associates, based in Libertyville, Illinois, to conduct the search under a $16,500 contract. The School Town of Munster used BWP in 2021 to assist in its search that led to the hiring of current Superintendent Bret Heller.

It marked the first meeting for Glenn Johnson, selected by Mayor Eddie Melton to replace board member Akilia McCain. He’s a former Lake Ridge Schools board member.

Board member Danita Johnson, who headed the committee to identify a search firm, said it looked at several companies before settling on BWP.

Debra A. Hill, BWP managing director, said it will begin the search process with a community survey.

“Every district, every community is different. We work with the board to determine what you want the process to look like,” she said. “We insist on clear communication, transparency and honesty.”

She said BWP has completed hundreds of searches for districts across the country. About 91% of the candidates recommended make it through the first four years, she said. And 87% receive a second contract.

“We keep doing the search, if the candidate pool isn’t what you want,” she said. “We work with you that first year to make sure the relationship is going to work ….”

She said a search typically takes 18 to 22 weeks with the goal of having a superintendent named by April.

The hiring of a superintendent will be the most impactful decision the first-year board makes as it begins the transition from state control.

The state took over the Gary Community School Corp. in 2017 after it fell into financial peril, leav

ing it unable to repair aging schools and pay utility and vendor bills. A state law stripped the district of its superintendent and elected school board.

Instead, a state-appointed education management team has run the district, guiding it back into more solid financial ground.

Earlier this year, the

General Assembly approved a measure allowing the city to have an appointed school board, the state secretary of education still controlling its makeup with three appointees.

State-appointed MGT Consulting is expected to continue to govern the district until this summer when the state could return it back to the school board.