The Mercer Island School Board began widely advertising its search for a new district superintendent on Feb. 1.

Current superintendent Donna Colosky will retire at the end of the 2021-22 school year, and the board anticipates naming her successor by April 30. The new superintendent — who will be selected from a pool of internal and external candidates — will step into their role on July 1. The superintendent’s salary is a minimum $250,000 first-year base, according to the job announcement posted at http://bit.ly/misd-superintendent.

In a previous Reporter article, board president Maggie Tai Tucker said the district will post the position in national publications, on the Washington Association of School Administrators web site and at other key locations. Consultant Lydia Musher of Tradition Search Partners will also attend a national conference of superintendents Feb. 17-19 in Nashville, Tennessee, on behalf of the district and will be actively recruiting candidates.

Through Musher’s recent interviews with parents, teachers, administrators, students, community members and others — along with comments on a ThoughtExchange interactive survey — two of the paramount superintendent qualities people wished for are a strong communicator who believes in transparency and someone who is focused on academic excellence and possesses integrity.

Along with those qualities, the board’s job announcement lists that the ideal candidate should be a systems builder who focuses on creating consistently excellent delivery, have experience managing innovatively within a strategic budget, demonstrate an apolitical commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and more.

The district, which is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer under state and federal laws and regulations, lists its mission as fostering learning by engaging students in thinking critically, solving problems creatively, and working collaboratively.

In a letter to the district community, Tucker said that the board posted the job announcement after a five-day period of public review.

“Thank you very much for your input about the job announcement and participation in the process so far. We value your input and look forward to involving you in the coming phases of the search,” she said.

Key dates during the hiring timeline are an application deadline of March 1; Tucker and Musher screening resumes and conducting phone-screening interviews from Feb. 1 to March 5; the five-member board meeting with select finalists on March 7; and the board hopes to make an announcement by March 21 to invite community members to participate in finalist visits.