How to hire a school superintendent

How to hire a school superintendent, step by step

Here's a step-by-step school superintendent hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a school superintendent job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new school superintendent
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The school superintendent hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A school superintendent's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, school superintendents from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of school superintendents and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of School Superintendent	Description	Hourly rate
   School Superintendent	Elementary, middle, and high school principals manage all school operations, including daily school activities. They coordinate curricula, oversee teachers and other school staff, and provide a safe and productive learning environment for students.	$31-62
   Principal	A principal is responsible for maintaining the orderliness of the school premises and supervising school operations, enforcing strict safety standards, and reiterating regulatory procedures. Principals' duties also include managing and monitoring school budget and expenses, improving security plans, conducting regular meetings and sharing updates with teachers and other school personnel, creating reports for school funding, and setting academic goals for everyone's compliance... Show more	$33-86
   Principal Investigator	A Principal Investigator is the primary person who is responsible for designing, conducting, and reporting a research project. They report to a designated official such as the department head or division chief.	$28-57

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Curriculum Development
   • K-12
   • Student Achievement
   • Public Schools
   • Elementary Schools
   • Pre-K
   • Professional Development
   • School Administration
   • Strategic Plan
   • Educational Programs
   • Staff Development
   • Educational Leadership
   • Educational Services
   • Oversight

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Create a PBIS system for teachers on how to manage behavior on a daily basis and reward positive outcomes.
   • Establish and maintain relationships with colleges, community organizations, and other schools to coordinate educational services.
   • Reconcile special activity bank accounts and run reports using QuickBooks and upload into SharePoint.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your school superintendent job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A school superintendent can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, school superintendents' average salary in alabama is 45% less than in connecticut.
   • Seniority. Entry-level school superintendents 50% less than senior-level school superintendents.
   • Certifications. A school superintendent with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a school superintendent's salary.

   Average school superintendent salary

   $93,341yearly

   $44.88 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level school superintendent salary

   $66,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 25, 2025

4. Writing a school superintendent job description

   A job description for a school superintendent role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a school superintendent job description:

   School superintendent job description example

   The Associate Superintendent will serve as the region leader over a specific quadrant of schools. This role will ensure continuity and cohesiveness within each region and within the district. Provide leadership, coaching and guidance for assigned Executive Directors to lead campuses toward District goals. Work as part of a team to guide School Leadership towards achieving the District Mission and established board goals through collaboration, decision-making and leadership.
   
   * Ensure each executive director and principal in assigned region improves student performance in meeting state and federal performance standards, has a healthy climate and culture, and focuses on the improvement of the quality of instruction and teachers' ability to teach with high levels of engagement and rigor utilizing the TEI Rubric
   
   * Support and monitor executive directors to develop principals into effective instructional leaders through coaching and professional development
   
   * Collaborate to create professional development and training assigned executive directors with other associate superintendents as part of a team
   
   * Lead and support executive directors and principals to ensure that the district's instructional curricular programs, assessments, and pedagogical approaches meet all legal requirements and district expectations.
   
   * Supervise and evaluate the performance of executive directors of vertical teams; meet regularly to collaboratively develop professional learning experiences and plans for improvement with a focus on assigned vertical team needs based on data.
   
   * Ensure executive directors understand the Campus Improvement Plan process, guide campuses in the development, submission, and monitoring of the implementation of the Campus Improvement Plan
   
   * Plans designed to maintain continuous progress in student achievement and meet the targeted district goals set forth in the District Improvement Plan for assigned regions and campuses.
   
   * Conduct regular campus visits that include conferring with executive directors and principals, reviewing Campus Improvement Plans and assessing student achievement progress
   
   * Use student and campus data to develop and provide professional development for executive directors and principals
   
   * Meet regularly with the Superintendent of schools, chief of schools and other designated central office staff to discuss campus progress, review data and identify professional development, budgetary supports and resources needed to assist campus staff to improve teaching and learning, providing
   weekly updates on assigned school to the Chief of Schools
   
   * Ensure assigned campuses comply with TEA, state, federal and school board polices and laws
   * Engage in problem solving to manage and handle issues within assigned schools and with executive directors for successful resolution on a regular basis
   * Ability to identify problem area and assist executive director to design and implement a coaching cycle around the identified problem area
   * Monitor attendance for students and teachers, dropout rates, graduation rates, college readiness, grade placement and student success initiatives and other data as needed for assigned region and district
   * Oversee proper business and budget practices of department to ensure effective utilization of funds
   * Ensure parent and community involvement plans are developed within vertical teams and assigned region to create cohesion within the area under executive director guidance
   * Ensure that executive directors and principals understand and implement district policies and procedures for maintaining safe and secure environments for students
   * Establish a collaborative relationship with all departments to ensure support of local campus academic, fiscal, training and facility needs
   * Direct the development and maintenance of such records and reports as are necessary to keep the Superintendent of Schools, Board of Trustees and other executive staff informed of the district's progress and future plans
   * Required Master's Degree from an accredited university
   * Required Valid Texas Teacher Certificate
   * Required Valid Texas Standard Principal Certificate of Mid Management Certificate
   * Preferred Valid Texas Administrator's/Supervisory certificate
   * Required 10 years of directly related experience
   * Success as a local campus administrator or related experience
   * Knowledge of the district's instructional programs and goals
   * Knowledge of school and district organization, operations, policies, goals and objectives
   * Strong organizational, communication and interpersonal skills

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find school superintendents for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your school superintendent job on Zippia to find and attract quality school superintendent candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit school superintendents, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new school superintendent

   Once you have selected a candidate for the school superintendent position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new school superintendent. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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