RSD Superintendent Search
About The Search
The RSD School Board will be selecting a new superintendent to lead our district. Superintendent Charan Cline will retire after 32 years in education, including 7 years as Superintendent of RSD at the end of the school year in 2027. We want to thank him for his years of service and dedication to our district's staff and students.
Choosing a new superintendent is one of the most important responsibilities of the RSD School Board. The board has hired an outside consultant, Human Capital Enterprises, to facilitate the nationwide search. There’ll be numerous opportunities throughout the coming months for staff, students, parents and community members to share what qualities they’d like to see in our next superintendent.
Latest Update
Dear Redmond School District Staff & Community,
As you know, Superintendent Cline will retire this coming June, and the Board of Directors has begun the search for our next Superintendent, who will begin July 1, 2027. The first step included interviewing and selecting a search firm, and the Board has selected Human Capital Enterprises to support us in this important work.
Choosing a new superintendent is the most important decision a school board can make. For all of us, it’s personal. We care deeply about the Redmond School District, and we are committed to finding the right person to serve as the next leader serving our students, families, staff, and community. We are also committed to a transparent process that keeps our staff and community informed.
We want to share what has been put in place so far, where we are in the process, and what you can expect in the months ahead.
1. Planning Phase — COMPLETE
The Board requested and reviewed proposals from search firms and selected Human Capital Enterprises (HCE) in August. At a special Board meeting on Wednesday, September 30, the Board met with HCE consultants and finalized the Superintendent Search Timeline, which will soon be available on the Redmond Schools website.
2. Engagement Phase — IN PROCESS | October 12-28, 2026
We are now preparing opportunities for staff, families, students, and community members to provide input about the qualities, experience, and leadership characteristics most important in our next Superintendent. That input will be used to develop the Next Superintendent Criteria, which will guide both recruitment and the Board’s consideration of candidates.
Please watch for additional information soon about how you can participate, including opportunities through focus groups and a community-wide survey.
3. Recruiting Phase | November–December 2026
Human Capital Enterprises will conduct broad outreach and actively recruit candidates whose backgrounds, skills, experience, and leadership qualities align with the Next Superintendent Criteria approved by the Board.
4. Selection Phase | January–February 2027
Candidates will participate in multiple stages of interviews and undergo extensive reference and background reviews. The Board anticipates conducting in-person finalist interviews in late January and identifying a lone finalist in early February.
5. Transition Phase | March–June 2027
Although the new Superintendent will officially begin on July 1, 2027, transition and onboarding activities will begin well before then. We anticipate opportunities for our staff and community to meet and welcome our new Superintendent during this period.
We are also creating a Superintendent Search page on the Redmond School District website, where the timeline, opportunities for participation, updates, and other information will be available throughout the search.
The Board appreciates your interest in this important process. We look forward to hearing from you during the engagement phase and will continue to provide updates as the search progresses.
Sincerely,
Liz Goodrich
On behalf of the Redmond School District Board of Directors
Superintendent Search Timeline
FAQ's
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Historically, many superintendent searches have culminated in a process whereby finalists (usually two or three) are introduced to the community through a series of public events. Constituents - whether parents, students, staff, or community members - weigh in and provide feedback regarding the candidates. The Board then deliberates and selects their preferred finalist to be the next Superintendent of Schools.
In some states, statute requires the public release of finalists' names - and in some states such as Florida - the names of every applicant are made public. In Oregon, the choice is not governed by statute and is therefore a local decision. In jurisdictions such as Oregon where the Board may make this determination, this traditional approach (the "public reveal") is now less ubiquitous than it has been historically.
The Board has chosen to engage with staff, parents, constituents and the broader community through Focus Groups and a Superintendent Search Survey with the intention of seeking high-level, high-leverage input from our many constituents on the front end of our search. At the finalist stage, the process does not include a public pronouncement of finalists, to attract the most exceptional talent.
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Quality of Pool
Top-tier, experienced superintendent candidates are shying away from superintendent search processes in which their names are surfaced publicly prior to selection. This has always been problematic, as the risk to a sitting superintendent who enjoys strong relationships in their district - and then publicly applies for another school district superintendency - is not small. But in the current era, where superintendents of great talent are in higher demand than ever before, top-drawer candidates are increasingly selective about the positions to which they apply. Many successful superintendents will opt out of a search process where they will be publicly identified as finalists for a job that they may not ultimately get. Whether names will be publicly revealed is often one of the first questions HCE Search Consultants are asked by prospective candidates who are current superintendents.
Thus, it should not be surprising to note that superintendent searches from districts where finalists' names are publicly revealed evidence that most finalists in most searches are not sitting superintendents.
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Quality of Community Feedback
Although there is sometimes a tendency to think that more feedback is better, in actuality that has not been the experience of Human Capital Enterprises. Large-scale qualitative feedback is very difficult to turn into usable feedback for the Board in the short turnaround time that is required. Beyond that, there is a question as to the value of feedback that comes from community events such as a meet-and-greet or public presentation. For instance, some constituents will provide feedback having only watched only a single candidate - or may have a strong bias toward a candidate and a large network of friends and colleagues with whom they share that bias, encouraging them to provide similar feedback.
Quantitative feedback on finalists in a Superintendent search, though easier to collect/analyze than qualitative, is of some, but limited, value.
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Equity
In searches where there is a large-scale amount of feedback, it can be difficult to make sense of the various voices providing feedback. When that happens, it is not atypical that we, human beings that we are, elevate the voices most proximate to us to a higher level of influence: our spouses and partners; our neighbors; our kids; our friends; our colleagues. Members of our close circles will have observed finalist processes, and they will have opinions that they eagerly share with us. Because there is large-scale data that is difficult to condense, and because the opinions of our close circles matter to us, we might inadvertently give more weight to the voices of our close circles than the broad constituencies from whom we are seeking to bring forth voices.
But in a search where a finite number of individuals are providing feedback - individuals who for the most part are not identified and who represent a broad and diverse array of stakeholders - the Board will truly hear the diverse voices of a representative sample of the community.
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Yes, throughout Oregon - in Forest Grove, Salem-Keizer, Tillamook, Willamette ESD, High Desert ESD, Eugene 4j, and South Lane successful searches took place without a public reveal. Many other districts in Oregon and Washington, and most districts in California use such an approach. Even in cities that are known for their active and deeply engaged communities, such as Bellevue WA, and Ashland, the "non-reveal" process yielded experienced talented superintendents and a successful leadership transition.
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Updates regarding the Superintendent search process will be communicated via email to staff and community partners. The Board leadership will provide updates at its regularly scheduled meetings as well as through the website and press releases. Families and Community will recieve posts on Parentsquare and on the website.