The Mackinac Island Board of Education will conduct its own search for the school's next superintendent, preferring a more hands-on approach and to save the $5,000 it would have cost to contract for the work. The decision was reached during a special board meeting Monday, October 19. The board now must move quickly to fill the spot, which will be vacated in late December by the interim superintendent, Michael Bootz.

The board rejected an offer by the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) for a flat fee of $5,000, plus the guarantee that, if the candidate did not work out within one year, a second search would be made at no cost. They also will not spend $4,000 to hire Mr. Bootz to conduct the search, although the board is considering hiring him to assist with part of the process.

Board member Leanne Brodeur voted against taking on the hiring task.

"I thought putting it in the hands of professionals was the better option," she told The St. Ignace News.

Ms. Brodeur will serve on the Application Committee with Kelly Bean and Terry Andress. The committee, which is expected to meet this week, will post the job until November 14, taking only hardcopy resumes and no e-mailed documents.

About 24 hours earlier, the Personnel Committee, which met Sunday afternoon, October 18, agreed it would recommend the board hire MASB, but the recommendation was never made during the Monday meeting of the full board. The committee decided not to recommend that Mr. Bootz conduct the search because it would take him away from his role of interim superintendent. Committee members also preferred the hiring resources that MASB offered.

In an e-mail sent to board member Kelly Bean, MASB advised that it would be illegal to pay Mr. Bootz to perform a separate service for the district.

During Monday's meeting, Ms. Bean said the school's law firm, Brookover, Carr & Schaberg of Lansing, still was looking into the matter, but it was likely no conflict exists, since Mr. Bootz is contracted and not a regular school employee.

Attending the Personnel Committee meeting Sunday was Terry Andress and Ms. Bean, who was filling in for member Larry Rickley, who was unable to attend. Committee member Sara Chambers also was absent. Teacher Karen Allen, not on the committee, did attend the Sunday meeting.

The school needs a principal first, and then a superintendent, said Ms. Allen. The board, she said, should consider hiring someone with experience as a principal, yet with the qualifications of a superintendent. The Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District and nearby superintendents, she said, could provide support to an inexperienced superintendent. The school needs someone who can fulfill the role of principal working with teachers, staff, and students and handling disciplinary issues, said Ms. Allen.

"It's the principal that you need," she said. "We've always seemed to look for a superintendent when really we need somebody to work with teachers and kids."