The Montgomery County Board of Education has resumed its search for a new superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).
The board announced the move Thursday, almost five months after aborting its initial search for a new superintendent and hiring Interim Superintendent Larry Bowers to remain in that position for the 2015-2016 school year.
The board will once again work with the search firm of Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA), which school system officials have said will resume the search on the same $35,000 contract agreed to in February.
In early February, former Superintendent Joshua Starr resigned from the position after it became clear he didn’t have enough support on the board for a contract extension.
The Board of Education said Thursday that the second search will be guided by the same list of “desired characteristics” put together after a series of community meetings.
In May, when announcing Bowers would remain as interim superintendent for the 2015-2016 school year, board members said the late timing of its search meant many of the nation’s top superintendent candidates had already been hired by other jurisdictions.
But some questioned the board’s confidential search process, especially after it became clear that Houston educator Andrew Houlihan, the board’s announced “preferred candidate,” was met with disapproval from a panel of community and education leaders.
Three days after the board announced Houlihan as the preferred candidate, Houlihan withdrew his name from consideration. The board then suspended its search and convinced Bowers to put off his planned retirement to lead the growing school system for another year.
Board President Patricia O’Neill told The Washington Post earlier this week that she’s certain the board will hire a new superintendent by the July 1 deadline.
