Correction: This article was updated on Dec. 3 at 3:15 p.m. It stated that District Wise Search Consultants was previously retained when former Superintendent Frank Alvarez was hired. The firm used was School Leadership LLC.
The Rye City Board of Education has received five responses from consulting firms offering to lead its search to find the district’s new schools superintendent.
A request for proposal (RFP) was issued by the board at its Oct. 22 meeting signaling the first step for the school district as it looks to replace Eric Byrne, who announced in October that, after eight years, he would retire at the end of the school year.
The board cast a wide net sending the RFP out to regional and local search firms. Proposals were due back by Nov. 4.
District Wise Search Consultants, JG Consulting, McPherson Jacobson LLC, Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, and School Leadership LLC all submitted proposals, according to a school district spokesperson.
Three of the search firms propose appointing a new superintendent between April and May 2025, with associated costs ranging from $25,000 to $28,000. The cheapest respondent, McPherson Jacobson, estimates the search to cost $19,500 and be concluded by late March 2025. JG Consulting was the most expensive of the respondents, charging a fee of $40,000.
Some of them have been in this position before.
School Leadership LLC ran the superintendent search 13 years ago when the school district landed on Frank Alvarez to replace longtime Superintendent Edward Shine. And the board named Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates as the search firm in 2017 when it hired Byrne, following the interim appointment of Brian Monahan, who served as superintendent after Alvarez resigned.
The board is looking to seek out an innovative leader who values equity, inclusivity, and collaboration, aligning with the district’s mission to deliver high-quality, personalized education and foster lifelong learning, according to the RFP.
“Once the Board selects a search firm, we will work with the firm to develop a timeline and details around the search process,” the board said in a letter to the community following Byrne’s announcement. “During the search process, there will be opportunities for the community to provide input to assist us in identifying the qualities we seek in our next Superintendent.”
The plan is to appoint a new superintendent who will begin around July 1, 2025, according to the RFP. Byrne, who collected a $323,000 salary in 2023, is scheduled to conclude his tenure on June 30, 2025.
The search for Byrne’s replacement continues amidst a period of transition for the district. Principal Andrew Hara was hired in August and Vice Principal Eunice Chao-Forest was hired earlier this month following the abrupt resignation of the school’s top two administrators.
The administrative hires come as the high school dropped 85 spots in the 2024 U.S. News & World Report survey of American public high schools, including a 14-spot decline in New York state rankings in 2023.
The board plans to share updates about the superintendent search in a special page on the district website, as well as in emails and meetings.