Lawrence Public Schools (Shutterstock photo)

At a special meeting Monday, the Lawrence school board will review the process for hiring a new superintendent and decide whether it will spend about $30,000 to employ a search firm to do so.

School board President Vanessa Sanburn called the meeting last week. The board will review a summary of the procedures and search options for hiring a superintendent. David Cunningham, director of human resources and legal services for the school district, will present the summary.

The summary includes 16 “essential steps,” the first of which is determining whether to hire an outside executive search firm. The alternative is a search organized and conducted by staff in the district’s human resources department. If a firm is hired, the district’s HR staff would provide support.

Lawrence schools Superintendent Rick Doll announced on Nov. 23 that he will resign his position effective June 30. Doll, 61, has accepted a full-time position as associate professor and executive director of the Kansas Educational Leadership Institute at Kansas State University.

As part of the decision of whether to hire a search firm, Sanburn previously told the Journal-World the board will review contract proposals from several firms, which will include the cost to hire each one. The cost has been estimated at about $30,000, which would come from the district’s general fund.

The district has requested proposals from four search firms: Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates of Rosemont, Ill.; McPherson & Jacobson of Omaha, Neb.; Ray and Associates of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Kansas Association of School Boards of Topeka, according to district spokeswoman Julie Boyle. If the board decides to hire a firm, board members will interview prospects at a subsequent meeting.

The board elected to hire a firm for the last superintendent search, when Superintendent Randy Weseman announced in 2008 that he would retire. Cunningham told board members at their last meeting that hiring a firm to aid in the process was typical for a district of Lawrence’s size. The district has 20 schools, a college and career center, a virtual school and about 12,000 students overall.

The school board will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at the district offices, 110 McDonald Drive.