Searching for a Superintendent Can Be Complicated

“I’m absolutely dedicated to this community,” he said. “I live in the community. I have great faith in this community. I want to hold Fulton County up as not only the best school district in Georgia, but in the nation.”

But finding a good fit isn’t always easy. Clayton and DeKalb counties and the Atlanta Public Schools are all operating without permanent superintendents.

Jim Puckett is a board development specialist with the Georgia School Boards Association, which conducts superintendent searches. He says bad hires happen in all industries and there’s always risk involved.

“We’ve got to remember that this is an art, not a science,” Puckett says. “What happens during the search process is you interview candidates, you review their qualifications, you do reference checks, and then make the best decision that you possibly can upon the limited amount of information that you have.”

Avossa’s salary of $275,000 is pretty typical of what a metro Atlanta superintendent is paid. While that may seem high, Puckett says it’s not a lot when compared to the private sector.

“If you take a look at the top 10 businesses in a community, it’s not unusual for corporate America to pay much higher salaries for people who are the same kind of quality individuals,” he says.

And, Puckett says, the job isn’t easy. He says in many cases, a superintendent is running the largest business in his community. That includes managing employees and the budget and overseeing complicated systems such as food service and transportation.