MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools search committee will have its first meeting this week to find someone to lead the second-largest school district in North Carolina.
This comes almost 10 months after the district fired its previous superintendent, Earnest Winston.
Since then, one person has been the acting superintendent and two people have filled in as interim.
The last time CMS had a national search for a superintendent was in 2016. It resulted in Clayton Wilcox being hired, the man who held the job before Winston. Wilcox resigned shortly after being suspended pending a performance review.
The two most recent national searches for CMS superintendents have resulted in superintendents who were forced to resign after board pressure -- less than three years into the job.
Leading a large school district comes with high expectations and high stakes, and the job pool is not large according to Bill Adams, the vice president of a national superintendent search firm.
"It's going to have to be very competitive in this, this this age that we're in the age of resignation," Adams, vice president of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates said.
About 25% of superintendents have left their jobs in the past year compared to a typical turnover rate of 14 to 16%, according to the American School Superintendent Association.
"It is a tough market, but compensation and marketing the district not only the opportunities but the challenges," Adams said. "Because we have some leaders that will take the challenges."
Due to the size of the district, the eligible pool of qualified candidates will shrink.
Contracts show since 2000 -- of the eight CMS superintendents, base salaries ranged from $180,000 to upwards of $307,000 a year.
The median salary of a superintendent the size of CMS is $229,000, according to the American School Superintendent Association.
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It may take the district a higher salary than this to get the right fit.
"There’s gonna be some great leaders, but the wrong fit," Adams said. "So the right fit is critically important."
Currently, CMS interim superintendent Crystal Hill has a base salary of $260,000 a year.
The overall search for a superintendent greatly ranges.
An article by the American School Superintendents Association listed search firm costs between $2,000 and $100,000.
The last national search cost CMS at least $34,000, according to the national firm's quoted proposal in 2016.
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.