District hopes to fill role by time Bogdanove retires July 1, 2024
Ashland.news staff report
The Ashland School District Board of Directors has started its search for a new superintendent for Ashland School District, with the goal of hiring a new superintendent by July 1, 2024, and chosen a recruitment firm to help with the selection process.
Samuel Bogdanove, currently superintendent of Ashland schools, has announced his retirement at the end of the 2023-24 school year. After researching and interviewing several firms, the board selected Human Capital Enterprises to lead a nationwide recruitment process that will span the duration of the 2023-24 school year.
The search agreement calls for the district to pay $26,400, plus expenses such as travel, advertising and a background check.
“It’s hard to say goodbye and think about that because there’s so many wonderful people and so many wonderful relationships,” Bogdanove said of his planned retirement in a previous interview with Ashland.news.
In a message sent out via newsletter, he said: “We have much to do between now and June and my focus is on the year ahead.”
Bogdanove started as superintendent in July 2020 and helped the district navigate the pandemic, Almeda Fire, and after effects and resurgences of COVID-19 among staff and students, as reported previously by Ashland.news.
“It’s been tremendously (challenging). We’ve seen huge impacts on kids in terms of academics and mental health and family dynamics,” Bogdanove said. “And staff have experienced that in their own families.”
As part of their comprehensive search for the district’s new superintendent, the board opened a Superintendent Search Survey which is now open to students, families, staff members, and members of the community.
The goal of the survey is to identify the needs and priorities of the Ashland community to help inform the selection of the next superintendent, to begin in July of 2024.
“To lay the foundation for a meaningful search, the Board has placed priority on elevating the voice of our community,” Rebecca Dyson, Ashland School District board chair, said in a statement. “The Board will utilize the results of this survey to develop criteria for selecting our next superintendent.”
The Ashland School District Board of Directors shared their thanks to the community for their participation in the selection process and looks forward to the search for what the district hopes is their “next great leader.”
Email Ashland.news staff reporter Holly Dillemuth at [email protected].
Oct. 30: Cost of search contract added, and a link to the contract.