ST. PARIS – Efforts to craft the profile for the next Graham superintendent are underway, with a large amount of community and stakeholder input already received, superintendent search firm officials say.

Graham Local Schools is seeking a superintendent after the resignation of former superintendent Norm Glismann, who became the superintendent at Tecumseh Local Schools. The Graham school board hired Interim Superintendent Matt Curtis in the summer for the school year, and hired K-12 Business Consulting to conduct the superintendent search. As part of that contract, the firm circulated a survey seeking input from all community members, staff, teachers and students on what they would like to see from the next superintendent.

K-12 held meetings with various groups – community members, teachers, students, staff, administrators, athletic boosters, parents and others – to get input for the “superintendent profile” the group will create for the school board, K-12 Search Consultant Debbie Campbell said. K-12 held two community meetings this month, including one Monday, to seek input. Though both community meetings were lightly attended, the separate group meetings had dozens of people in each of them. K-12 received about a one-inch-thick collection of profile surveys from all those groups. Survey forms can be found on Graham’s website (www.grahamlocalschools.org) and returned to the school district by Dec. 4.

The surveys ask for opinions on Graham’s strengths and needs and on qualities the next superintendent should have.

Responses have indicated the community wants someone visible in the community and schools, with an “open door policy.” Respondents have indicated community support is important in the Graham school district, and the district has great facilities and caring teacher. Respondents also noted that some difficulties Graham has faced include tight budgets, which brought a reduction in programs for students. Respondents also expressed concern about the school district’s state report card grades.

“We are hearing these things in (the other) meetings,” Campbell told the two attendees at the Monday community meeting.

Once all responses are in, K-12 will compile that data and create the superintendent profile for the school board. The profile helps the school board craft interview questions and determine which candidates it wants to interview. K-12 researches candidates and will encourage individuals that fit the profile to apply, one way the firm is different from other search firms, Campbell said.

The board is expected to approve the profile at its Dec. 14 meeting.

Once the profile is approved, the superintendent job posting will go up Dec. 16 and include links to the community-generated profile for the ideal candidate for the district, Campbell said. The application period will close Jan. 29; there will be two rounds of candidate interviews in February. The hope is to have the school board hire its new superintendent in March and that the superintendent will start Aug. 1, 2016.