ROCHESTER, N.Y. — More than 1,000 Rochester residents have voiced their opinions on what kind of person they want as the next superintendent of the Rochester City School District.

The deadline for candidates to apply for the position is approaching, with applications due by Dec. 15. News10NBC attended a meeting where the results of the leadership profile survey were presented to the board and the public. The district is collaborating with executive recruiting firm Hazard, Young, Attea, and Associates to develop a candidate profile based on the survey results.

The survey gathered input from students, parents, staff, and others about desired characteristics for the next leader. These include a commitment to equity, academic excellence, dedication to the City of Rochester, and experience in urban education.

“We had over 1,000 respondents to this survey, from different demographics, meaning students, staff internally, stakeholders externally, public officials, community-based organizations, parents of students. So a pretty diverse group,” said RCSD Board President Cynthia Elliott.

Now that the results are in, Elliott emphasized the importance of finding a candidate who has these qualities.

“The board will discuss it. We’ll look at the survey results. We’ll do our own personal analysis on those results. We’ll start the interviewing process and look for candidates that have those elements,” Elliott said.

An unexpected finding from the survey was the public’s interest in the district’s financials.

“What it suggested to me was that our community wants us to be fiscally responsible. Often times, we’re being asked to fund these things when we have constrained resources and we have to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, Elliott said

The board aims to finalize the search for the new superintendent by March 2025.

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