School board picks firm to seek superintendent

The Renton School Board selects Northwest Leadership Associates to conduct search for new superintendent.

The Renton School District has officially begun the first steps of finding a new superintendent with the hiring of a search firm.

In a special school board meeting Tuesday night, the board voted to hire Northwest Leadership Associates to search for a superintendent to replace outgoing superintendent Mary Alice Heuschel.

Heuschel will step into the position of newly elected Gov. Jay Inslee’s chief of staff in mid-January.

The nationwide search for a new superintendent could take months and will include staff and community input, community meetings to present candidates and more, according to a district press release.

In the interim, Assistant Superintendent Vera Risdon will act as the replacement.

To select a search firm, school board members held public study sessions to interview firms vying for the position to hire a new superintendent. The district reports that all of the companies reviewed were qualified to conduct the search.

The search will involve conducting background checks, visiting the communities of perspective candidates and presenting candidates at community meetings.