Socorro ISD Begins Search For New Superintendent
The search is on for a new Socorro Independent School District superintendent to take over when Dr. Xavier De La Torre leaves at the end of the school year.
Monday night, the S.I.S.D. school board met with private search firm Proact, to plan out the details of the hunt.
Board members approved hiring Proact to conduct the search for a base fee of about $30,000.
The board also voted to advertise the superintendent position for up to $260,000. That would be $20,000 more than De La Torre’s 2009 starting salary.
Proact will be considering prospective superintendents locally, regionally, and nationally.
Board members agreed the candidate must possess a background in K-12 education, and preferably hold a doctorate degree and speak Spanish and English fluently.
Proact said it will begin the search on April 16 and it will continue through June 8. Proact plans to present the board with 15 to 20 of the most promising candidates once they finish the initial search.
Then the board will narrow that down to no more than five quarter-finalists and whittle that number down even further to three semi-finalists.
Board members agreed to announce the semi-finalists in order to give the public a chance weigh in on the final decision.
“From the conversation I heard the board have today, I think they’re looking for somebody who’ll be an instructional leader, someone who will drive, or continue to drive, the academic agenda here in the school district, so we can not only continue, but improve upon the successes that we’ve seen in recent years under Dr. De La Torre,” said S.I.S.D. spokesman Daniel Escobar.
