Central Lee board picks Omaha firm for superintendent search

DONNELLSON – The Central Lee school board officially accepted the resignation of Superintendent Dr. Andy Crozier on Thursday night and then signed on with an Omaha firm to begin the search for his replacement.
The board met in a special session Thursday with a relatively tight timeline to find Crozier’s replacement. The five board members hesitated, in a move of respect to Crozier, from making a motion to accept his resolution, but then approved the move unanimously for Crozier’s last day to be June 30.
The 10-year Central Lee Superintendent was named as Waukee’s next Superintendent earlier this week and will start at the state’s third largest school district on July 1.
Crozier was succinct in his thoughts to the board.
“I’m not going to read my letter of resignation. It’s been an honor,” Crozier said.
In the letter, Crozier said his legacy is embedded in the people of the district.
“I know many will point to the facility improvements or national awards as my legacy at Central Lee. I see it much differently. My legacy will remain with the thoughts and words of our staff. I am confident that they believe I have poured my heart and soul into this school district to make it better each day for them and our students. I have advocated for them, and will continue to do so, for the betterment of the employees of this school district. They are the reason why students choose to come to Central Lee and they are the reason we have been so successful,” he wrote.

The board then heard two 30 minute presentations from superintendent search firms.
Gary DeLacy, a former superintendent who served a stint at Danville and is now a consultant for Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates of Arlington Heights, made the first presentation. He was followed by Stephen Murley, a lead consultant for McPherson Jacobson of Omaha, Neb.
Both proposals were for just over $14,000 in services and both candidates said they could generate a pool of 12 to 15 candidates and bring about a selection within 12 weeks.
Board member Matt Doty pushed both entities on how their services would continue should Central Lee decided to go to an interim Superintendent due to the tight timeline.
Murley told the board that the tight timeline does seem ominous but he said, traditionally, this is a good time to start a process. Both presentations included national data bases of candidates, coordination of stakeholder interviews, negotiations of contract and follow-up support.
After a short discussion following the presentations, the board voted unanimously to approve a contract with McPherson Jacobson and work on the search is set to begin immediately.
Board member Mark Hulsebus said the district has placed itself as a top-tier 2A school under Crozier's leadership, but said the district is now looking for someone better than Crozier.
"That's no offense to you, Andy. It speaks to where we want to go as a district."