District searches for superintendent

DOWNTOWN — The search for a new Burbank Unified School District superintendent will start next week, as consultants begin gathering feedback on replacing Supt. Gregory Bowman, who will retire in June.

The district has hired Leadership Associates — a firm that focuses specifically on finding superintendents for California school districts — to conduct the search, which will start with a community focus group and discussions with officials and will end with a new district chief executive in about four months, said Jim Brown, one of the company’s lead consultants for the project.

The firm will hold a community forum at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 15 at Buena Vista Library in Burbank and will also get input from the Board of Education starting at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 14 in a meeting at the district office, at 1900 W. Olive Ave., that will be partially open to the public.

Brown, who was superintendent of the Glendale Unified School District from 1996 to 2004, said his firm will rely heavily on conversations with parents, teachers, students and district employees to generate a set of recommended candidates, which the school board will consider before making selections for interviews.

Leadership Associates will also facilitate the interview and contract negotiation processes for the position, Brown said.

The district’s steadily improving test scores and relatively strong financial status should draw as many as 25 applicants for the post, he said.

“I anticipate the position will attract candidates from various parts of California and it could also attract candidates who are outside the state,” Brown said.

The new superintendent would have to guide the district through the most difficult budget challenges in recent memory, Deputy Supt. Joel Shapiro said.

“I think what we’re looking for is a leader who will be able to help the district to continue along the path of high achievement with the unprecedented budgetary constraints that we’re going to be faced with,” Shapiro said. “And these will not be easy times. There are going to be many difficult decisions to be made with the upcoming budget crisis and we don’t want to sacrifice student achievement. It’s important to have someone who can lead us through that.”