Five months after Cherie Labat abruptly resigned as superintendent, the Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees has hired a search firm to find a new leader.
In a special-call meeting held virtually Tuesday night, the board unanimously tapped Mississippi School Boards Association to lead the superintendent search. It’s the same firm the board used in 2018 for the search that led to Labat’s hiring.
CMSD board president Yvonne Cox said the board’s relationship with MSBA as a nonprofit resource for school board leadership, not just a superintendent search firm, helped set it apart.
“Our school district is affiliated with (MSBA),” Cox said. “…. We do attend their trainings, we work with them regarding our policies. We’re in constant communication with them. … The work they did then with our previous superintendent (search) was fine.”
Labat resigned from CMSD in August, and the board appointed Dennis Dupree as interim two days later.
MSBA was one of five firms to apply for the role, and was chosen Tuesday over the other finalist — Hazard, Young, and Attea Associates, which led Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District’s most recent superintendent search for Tony McGee.
MSBA’s proposal is priced at $7,000 plus travel expenses, though the contract is still being finalized. HYA’s proposed consulting fee was $21,500 and included travel.
MSBA, based in Clinton, has offered a “fee-based superintendent search service” since 2006, according to its website. In addition to assisting CMSD’s last superintendent search, it also led Lowndes County School District’s search that yielded Sam Allison’s hiring.
The Dispatch reached out to MSBA for comment, but Tommye Henderson, MSBA superintendent search manager, said her team needs time to meet with CMSD board members before making any official statements.
MSBA’s services will include establishing the criteria and qualifications the board seeks in a superintendent, community engagement, recruiting a pool of candidates, managing applications, reference and background checks for applicants and presenting its findings of qualified candidates to the board.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Cox said the next steps are for the board to meet with a MSBA representative to discuss how they want to move forward. The approved proposal states the board will give the firm its wants and needs in a future superintendent candidate and sets a timeline to have each phase completed.
There are four phases MSBA will be a part of with the district — preparation, recruitment, selection and appointment. The proposal estimates two to three weeks for preparation and selection and five to six weeks for recruiting.
The appointment phase varies. During that time the CMSD board will appoint a new superintendent, and MSBA will send letters of regret and can assist with contract preparation for the new superintendent.
With the information MSBA provided the district in its proposal, the superintendent search process could take roughly 12 weeks or more.
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