Long Beach Unified School District leaders said they hope to find the district’s next superintendent by May after opening the search to statewide candidates.

Superintendent Chris Steinhauser announced his retirement Dec. 18 after serving in that position for the past 18 years. It was widely speculated that the Board of Education would look internally for a replacement, but on Wednesday members said they would open the pool to those outside the district.

It will not, however, be a nationwide search. The board will limit the pool to California—a suggestion made by Steinhauser who said any outsider would have to get up to speed on the state’s complex budgetary processes and collective bargaining rules. All but one board member agreed with his assessment.

“We want to get the best candidate and I don’t see any rationale or justification as to why we would limit that pool of the best candidates,” Board Member Juan Benitez said, adding that limiting the search ran counter to the district’s values of being inclusive.

Benitez tried to hold a vote to open the search to a national field of candidates, but his motion failed to get support from any of the four other board members.

Keeping the search internal was a strategy that was favored by multiple board members during a previous meeting this month, where nearly all of them hinted that the best person for the job would likely be someone within the district because they’d be familiar with the “Long Beach way.” 
Understanding the “California way” will now also be a prerequisite to landing the district’s top job.

“In my work with different districts across the state, the unique challenges of California school districts is a real thing,” Board Member Megan Kerr said. “It’s not a made up thing.”

A number of public speakers again requested that the search be more broad. Who gets to be a part of that process though has yet to be revealed.

A 20-member advisory committee that will include representatives from the board, Cal State Long Beach, teachers associations and other unions will be created to guide the process. But students advocated for their voice to be heard in the process as well.

Glenn Rodriguez, a Lakewood High School student and member of the youth advocacy group Californians For Justice, said that students need to be part of picking a new superintendent.

“Often times, from a student’s point of view, it seems like we have no say and we don’t have the power to change our schools for the better,” Rodriguez said.

He asked that students get the opportunity to give meaningful input in the hiring process adding that it would be important for whoever is appointed by the board be aware of the unique challenges faced by students today.

“Times change, as do the needs of youth, thus it is important and crucial to have a superintendent who is responsive to the ever-changing social and educational climate,” he said.

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Even though the board opened the field to candidates outside the district, the public may never know who applied for the position because the board also voted to keep applicants confidential.

There was the potential for finalists to interview openly before the public during a regular board of education meeting, but it was determined that public interviews could decrease the likelihood for qualified candidates applying.

Recruiting candidates will also be an internal process with Deputy Superintendent Ruth Ashley heading that process. An outside firm was projected to cost the district upward of $75,000. Ashley said that using an outside firm could have also pushed back the board’s projected timeline by up to a month.

The board also voted to hold at least one public meeting in each of the five board of education districts throughout the city with the possibility for additional ones to be scheduled.

The public engagement and recruitment efforts are expected to be completed between the end of January and the first week of March with screening and initial interviews being carried out between March and April. A second round of interviews is slated to take place between April 6 and May 1 with the board shooting for an appointment date of May 6.

“I think we can do a thorough search in that timeframe,” Kerr said. “The superintendent announced his retirement a month ago. For folks who pay attention, for folks who are looking for the opportunity to apply for this position, this has not been a secret. I think moving quickly is important.”

[Editors note: the story has been updated to reflect Chris Steinhauser announced his retirement Dec. 18.]