CSD Announces Superintendent Search Firm, Process and Timeline

COMMACK, NY —The Commack Board of Education has engaged Western Suffolk BOCES to assist the district in conducting a national search to identify the best qualified educator to assume the position of superintendent of the Commack School District beginning in July 2022. With Dr. James' resignation taking effect November 30, 2021, the Board will also be appointing an interim superintendent to lead the district from December 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022. Guiding the search process for the district are Michael Flynn, Western Suffolk BOCES Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Superintendent, and Paula Klingelhoefer, a consultant with Western Suffolk BOCES and an experienced administrator, researcher, planner and educator. Combined, Mr. Flynn and Ms. Klingelhoefer have decades of experience in academic executive recruitment and have worked on countless superintendent searches for school districts across the Long Island region.

Mr. Flynn and Ms. Klingelhoefer will be soliciting input from Board members, Commack central administration, building administrators, representatives from all district bargaining units, parents, and the greater Commack community regarding the characteristics and qualifications they desire in a superintendent. Based on this input, the search consultants will market the Commack superintendent position opportunity to a diverse pool of potential applicants, recruit prospective candidates, screen and vet applicants in addition to assisting the Board in selecting finalists and, ultimately, the most capable superintendent to lead the district beginning with the 2022-2023 school year.

The Board is confident that conducting a national search will ensure it is putting students, staff and the community in the hands of an educational leader who is best suited to sustaining and building upon the Commack District’s stellar reputation as one of the elite districts in the state and in the country.

“It is the Board’s responsibility to regularly evaluate the strategies and personnel the district has in place to ensure we are well-positioned to meet the evolving needs of our students, staff and community,” said Steven Hartman, president of the Commack Board of Education. “With Dr. James’ resignation, it was incumbent for the Board to move quickly to put in motion a carefully planned search process while also taking steps to ensure there would be no leadership gap between the time of Dr. James’ departure to when we make a final decision on a new superintendent next spring. With the assistance of Mr. Flynn and Ms. Klingelhoefer, we can be confident that the salient qualities and characteristics as expressed by Board members, our students, parent groups and other community stakeholders will be the guideposts used to select the most qualified candidates, and finally, the candidate the Board chooses as the district’s next superintendent. Mr. Flynn and Ms. Klingelhoefer will also work with the Board in selecting an interim superintendent who has the background and experience that will help ensure seamless transitions both now and next July.

Mr. Flynn and Ms. Klingelhoefer will make a brief presentation about the search process at the Board of Education’s regularly scheduled meeting on October 14. Interested stakeholders will be able to provide input to the Board about the leadership needs of the district through focus groups later this month and in November led by Mr. Flynn and Ms. Klingelhoefer as well as through an on-line survey. The community survey can be accessed by clicking on the link on the home page of the district’s web site at www.commack.k12.ny.us or at this link: www.surveymonkey.com/r/CommackCommunity. A hard copy can also be picked up at the district office located at 480 Clay Pitts Road, East Northport, or at the Commack Public Library located at 18 Hauppauge Rd, Commack.
The information collected will be summarized and presented to the Board for its consideration in selecting a superintendent. The summary information presented to the Board will be made available to the public on the district’s website. It is expected that the entire process of choosing a superintendent will be completed no later than May 2022.

“We are proud to partner with the Commack School District to conduct an executive search that will identify strong superintendent candidates,” said Mr. Flynn. “Superintendent searches must always safeguard candidate privacy and confidentiality, but it is important to note that this is meant to be an inclusive process. Ms. Klingelhoefer and I are committed to working with the Board, faculty, staff, students, parents, residents and other members of the Commack community to learn more about everyone’s specific needs. We are dedicated to finding a diverse group of excellent candidates for the Board of Education to consider.”

The timeline as outlined by the search consultants is as follows:

• Board survey
• Recruitment material development
• Informational presentation at Board of Education October 14 meeting
• Community Survey – access through Commack website through November 12, 2021
• Position advertisement in education publications, newspapers, online channels
• Stakeholder meeting(s)

• Search consultants conduct applicant screening
• Initial candidate interviews are conducted

• Board of Education conducts interviews of finalist candidates
• Background reviews are conducted of finalist candidates

• Board of Education selects and appoints new superintendent - Announcement is made at

• Commencement of new superintendent employment

For more information about the district’s executive search efforts and progress update reports, visit the district’s website, www.commack.k12.ny.us.

Information about the process, timeline and how members of the community can provide input, as well as periodic updates about the progress of the search, will be made available to the community on a section of the district’s website dedicated to the superintendent search: www.commackschools.org.