Richland 2 school district taps search firm to help with new superintendent hire
Roughly four months after the resignation of its previous superintendent, the Richland 2 school board has hired a search firm to help find the district’s next leader.
The board has retained McPherson and Jacobson LLC, a national superintendent search firm, to help with the search, the district said in a Monday morning news release. With the assistance of that firm, the board plans to hire a new superintendent by July 1, the release said.
McPherson and Jacobson is based in Omaha, Nebraska. Per its website, it “has been conducting national searches for boards of education since 1991” and “has placed over 750 superintendents and other officials in public and non-profit organizations across the United States.”
Previous Richland 2 Superintendent Baron Davis resigned in January following a six-hour, closed-door school board meeting. The board unanimously accepted his resignation. Davis had been in the role since 2017.
The district paid Davis more than $600,000 following his abrupt resignation. A settlement agreement with Davis provided a lump sum of $415,518.68, along with $124,481.32 for accrued sick days and vacation leave and another $75,000 for “all disputed claims,” which was not further defined in the agreement.
In the settlement, Davis and the school board also mutually agreed to not make disparaging comments about each other or the district.
Interim Superintendent Nancy Gregory currently is leading the district, a role she has had since shortly after Davis’ resignation.
