The search for a new superintendent for the Syracuse City School District is moving into high gear this week.
The district agreed to hire a consulting firm last month to conduct the nationwide search for a new leader for the district which has more than 20,000 students. They are starting this week with a series of in-person and virtual community focus groups at local schools. School Board President Tamika Barnett said the idea is to find out what the community wants before bringing in candidates.
"The biggest piece right now is the community input,” said Barnett. “Because we decided as a board to help the community let us decide what are the needs of the district and what we want in our next superintendent. So it will be a lot of forums, a lot of conversation."
The district is looking to replace Jaime Alicea, who stepped down in June after six years as superintendent. Anthony Davis is the interim superintendent. Barnett says there’s no hard timeline for finding a new superintendent.
“We wouldn’t rush,” said Barnett. “We want the best candidate, we’ll take our time."
