OUR VIEW: If a search firm is what it takes, go for it

Staff Editorial
Published: September 28, 2008

» SUMMARY: The hiring of a search firm to find a superintendent is an unfortunate necessity for the School Board.

The Culpeper County School Board last week unanimously approved a plan to advertise for a superintendent search firm to help fill the position vacated by David Cox after the 2007-08 school year.

The School Board has said from the beginning that it plans to move as quickly as possible to find a permanent replacement for Cox, whose buyout clause lets him continue to serve as a well-paid consultant to the school district — on paper, at least.

We agree with the board that hiring an outside firm could help take local politics and friendships out of the equation, giving Culpeper County Public Schools an opportunity to find the best possible candidate. But it is unfortunate that filling the superintendent’s office will come at such a high cost.

It’s well documented that CCPS is paying Cox his full salary and benefits for his role as a consultant, and Larry Carter has received a significant pay raise to serve as the acting chief administrator. Adding a search firm to the mix likely won’t come cheap, but the board has put itself in this situation and is now forced to spend its way into a solution.

The board is aiming to award a contract to a search firm by the end of October, a good step toward hopefully having a new superintendent in place relatively soon. At this point, the board can’t change the fact that it is paying two superintendents, but anything that can speed up the process of putting a full-time administrator in place is in the best interest of the county’s schools.

Only then can we move ahead with uniting behind a leader who will forge a new chapter in the history of public education in Culpeper.