Sumner School District has its timeline for hiring a new superintendent, and families can expect a name by spring of 2013.

School board President Rick Hendricks announced the timeline at the Oct. 10 monthly board meeting, breaking it down by milestone months.

The district has already made it through two milestone months.

The board hired a search consultant in May. Lee Goeke is the owner of Systemic HR Solutions and  has previously consulted for the Hawaii state Board of Education during its 2010 search for a superintendent, according to an article in the Hawaii Reporter. He has 40 years of human resources experience with the United States Department of Defense and Vancouver School District.

The district issued a survey to constituents in June “to determine the core values of the district,” Hendricks said. Presently, a competency model for future candidates is in development based on the 800 responses returned. Focus groups will be conducted on Oct. 23 and Oct. 24 to polish the model.

The remaining process, by month, is as follows:

January

Superintendent job posting opens for applications.

February

Applicants screened via competency model and whittled down to a selection of serious candidates.

March

Candidates will be interviewed and, if sufficiently impressive, placed on the short list. Goeke will conduct background checks on finalists. The school board will arrange public forums and open houses for constituent input, and conduct final interviews. The top candidate will enter contract negotiations.

April

An employment contract will be finalized and the new superintendent will be announced.

The period following April will see Craig Spencer transition out of the superintendent seat. Former Assistant Superintendent Spencer stepped into the interim superintendent position following Gil Mendoza’s departure in summer 2011.