January: Post the job online.

February: Pore over applications.

March: Interview and present superintendent finalists to the public.

The timeline for picking a new top officer for the Flagstaff Unified School District is taking shape. With less than two months left for Kevin Brown, the school board and search consultants are getting to the heart of searching for Brown's replacement.

The school board met with John Gordon, director of leadership development for the Arizona School Boards Association, on Wednesday to begin sketching the timeline. The board hired the Phoenix-based ASBA to help guide its superintendent search, which will also include clearly identifying what qualities and criteria the next superintendent should have.

The timeline is tentative, but it includes a March 8 "Community Day," highlighted by a public evening forum with the finalists.

"This is an ambitious activity," Gordon said.

The ASBA will post the job on its Web site, www.azsba.org, and also share the information with other state and national groups, including the Arizona School Administrators, Education Week newspaper, the three state universities and the Broad Superintendents Academy, which trains business executives to take the helm at school districts. The board will accept internal applications but agreed not to give those applicants special treatment, such as guaranteed interviews.

Applications will only be accepted online.

In the coming weeks, Gordon will meet with various groups of local "stakeholders," such as staff, students and parents, to get an idea of what characteristics people other than school board members and fellow key administrators want in the new superintendent. Those discussions will help shape the text of the job posting.

Board member Paul Kulpinski and president Deb Harris said they want to see diversity in these groups of constituents.

Kulpinski also said he likes the idea of a community mentor, such as a leader from the city or Northern Arizona University or Coconino Community College, to pair up with a potential new superintendent.

Board clerk Beth Heerding seconded the "mentor" idea.

"I'd like to see some 'average Joe' citizens involved, too," she said.

Gordon said getting about 20 to 30 high school students together to grill the finalists would be particularly insightful.

"I'll tell you what, they'll take it seriously and give you good feedback," he said.

The board agreed to hire the ASBA for $7,000 for an all-inclusive search package. FUSD is a dues-paying member of the association, which also provides legal and policy direction, training and lobbying for public school districts.

This price quote does not include travel for candidates, nor will the district offer that separately to potential replacements. FUSD can offer relocation expenses in the new superintendent's first-year contract, but it cannot provide travel expenses for people not employed — or employed yet — by the district.

Superintendent positions are opening up across Arizona, giving FUSD some competition for choice candidates. Small-to-medium-sized districts in Prescott, Humboldt, Coolidge and Casa Grande are also looking for new leaders.

FUSD aims to have its new superintendent in place in July, the start of the fiscal year.

In the meantime, the district has planned to have an interim trio of leaders. From January through June 2010, Barbara Hickman, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, will be the interim superintendent, with backup from Bob Kuhn, assistant superintendent of operations and a yet-to-be-named, internally chosen "Director of Curriculum and Secondary Instruction."

Hillary Davis can be reached at hdavis@azdailysun.com or 556-2261