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District hires firm to find superintendent
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MONROE - Taking the first step toward finding a new district administrator, the Monroe school board approved a contract with search and consulting firm School Exec Connect on Monday.

"Ideally we want to have someone who can go reach out to really solid people in the field ... because the best people you're going to find are the people who aren't sitting around working on their resume and working on their letters of recommendation and thinking about which 10 districts they're going to apply to this spring," said board president Bob Erb. "The best people are the people that are doing great work where they are and love it but would also love a challenge with maybe a bigger district or want to be in this part of the state."

The current district administrator, Cory Hirsbrunner, gave notice in August that she plans to resign from her position when her contract expires at the end of June.

Earlier this month, board members discussed hiring a consulting firm and decided it would benefit the district to have help in finding Hirsbrunner's replacement.

The firm proposes starting the search right away by getting input from the board, school staff and the community and finishing in March, according to Director of Pupil Services Joe Monroe. He said the proposed timeline will need to be reviewed by the board.

School Exec Connect works mostly in Minnesota and Illinois, but the two consultants from the firm that will be assigned to Monroe have ties to Wisconsin and are familiar with the area, Monroe said.

He said he contacted seven consulting firms, three of which sent proposals that he shared with the board on Nov. 14. Hirsbrunner and Terri Montgomery, director of curriculum and instruction, recommended School Exec Connect as the best option.

School Exec Connect's contract comes at a cost of $13,800 plus expenses - no more than $2,700 - and advertising, Monroe said.

Board members approved the contract unanimously; Dan Bartholf was absent.