Norwalk’s superintendent search will kick off Tuesday

By Nancy Guenther Chapman

NORWALK, Conn. – You can expect Norwalk to have chosen its superintendent of schools candidates by next April’s IRS filing deadline.

The Board of Education on Tuesday evening approved a contract with the superintendent search firm PROACT, which it selected at its last meeting. The contract, which BOE Chairman Mike Lyons said was significantly rewritten by the city’s legal department, calls for a goal of completing the selection and interviewing process by April 15.

The contract awards the company $17,500 for its work, and sets a limit on reimbursable expenses at $4,750.

PROACT was selected because it has a diverse staff and will be able to reach out to the public for its opinion, BOE members said at their last meeting. There will be a special BOE meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, to kick off the search, Lyons said.

Approving the contract was significant, BOE member Sue Haynie said. “I realize it’s been painfully slow with each step but that was a big one. … now we can do the kickoff on Tuesday, which starts the whole superintendent process. That was an important hurdle.”