7/16/08

Plain Dealer

Scott Stephens

The person who has the qualities to be the next state schools superintendent may not know it yet.

“The best person for the job may not know they want the job,” headhunter Gary Hudepohl told members of the State Board of Education on Tuesday during a report on the search for Ohio’s top education official. “They have to be wooed.”

Hudepohl said his firm, the Worthington-based Hudepohl & Associates, soon will begin recruiting people it identifies as possible replacements for Susan Tave Zelman. Now in her 10th year, Zelman announced in May that she would be stepping down by year’s end.

Candidates who apply for the job won’t be ruled out, Hudepohl said, but the firm is also interested in shaking the bushes for qualified candidates not actively seeking the post.

“A lot of people feel that having experience as a superintendent is helpful, but we want to keep the window open for nontraditional people from business and elsewhere,” said board President Jennifer Sheets of Pomeroy.

Serious candidates will have to meet a set of prerequisites. So far, the search firm has interviewed 54 people - Gov. Ted Strickland, legislative and business leaders, education groups, teachers union representatives and others - to help fashion a final list of those prerequisites.

Board members have expressed a desire to hire someone with strong Ohio ties who understands how the state - and Columbus - work.

They want someone with a strong vision of education, yet with good enough administrative skills to lead a department with 650 employees and an $11 billion budget.

‘We’re looking for a visionary leader who can bring all the stakeholders together,” Sheets said. “I’m very happy with the search firm so far. I’m impressed with their work.”

The board’s search committee will meet at the end of next week to approve the wording of the official posting for the position. The position will be advertised in education trade journals.

Hudepohl told the board he’ll know the level of interest in the position in four or five weeks.

He acknowledged that the person hired will have to have the ability to carry out a “shared vision” between the state board and Strickland.

Candidates interested in applying for the state superintendent’s job can contact Hudepohl at 614-854-7300, or visit the firm’s Web site at hudepohl.com.