Superintendent search may be a waste of time

I’m just as sad as most Lacey residents over the retirement of Raj Manhas as superintendent of Lacey’s schools.

But, hiring a search firm to find his replacement might just be a waste of time and money.

If trends hold true – – we’ll find our new school superintendent locally – – right here in our own educational ranks.

Lets take a look at some examples.   When Lacey City Manager Greg Cuoio retired his replacement was his assistant – Scott Spence.   When Jim Bromman retired as Lacey Fire Chief his replacement was his assistant fire chief – Steve Brooks.  When Mike Harbour left the reins of Intercity Transit – his replacement was his staff member Ann Freeman Manzanares, and when the Timberland Regional Library system went looking for a new leader a few years back –  it hired Cheryl Heywood from among its own ranks.   When John Gott retired as superintendent the school  district did a nationwide search and hired Cliff Tyler, an outsider.   Tyler lasted less than two years.   Of course – the search for a new superintendent when Jim Koval retired – – did lead to the hiring of another outsider – Raj Manhas.

So the Lacey school district has had a mixed bag of hiring outside of its own system with a 50 percent success rate.

Often an agency already knows who it wants as a leader and by going through a national or regional search are looking to see if there is someone better out there.   Often there isn’t.   I suspect that may be case this time around.