Kennett Consolidated School District superintendent Dr. Barry Tomasetti announced two months ago that he will be retiring when his current contract expires in January of 2020. That means that the district will soon need to take on the task of finding Tomasetti's replacement—the first superintendent search in over a decade for a school district that has an impressive record of stability at the top.

School board president Joseph Meola announced at the school board meeting on April 8 that the board has enlisted the help of the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) to facilitate the superintendent search.

Numerous school districts in the county have turned to the CCIU for this service, especially in recent years. Meola explained that board members recently met with the team from the Intermediate Unit to discuss how they can assist with the superintendent search. After that discussion, Meola explained, the school board unanimously agreed to enlist the Intermediate Unit.

On its website, the Chester County Intermediate Unit touts the fact that, as a Pennsylvania K-12 public regional educational service organization, it has a vested interest in placing the best candidate in each and every district for which it conducts a search—unlike other national and for-profit search companies.

The CCIU website includes the following on the page dedicated to superintendent and executive searches: “As an integral member of the Pennsylvania Public School System and as a member of a statewide network of intermediate units, CCIU staff is aware of the challenges facing our public schools and the skills, qualities and leadership traits necessary to lead our schools in the 21st century. As a part of a statewide network, we are aware of the demographic, social and economic diversity of our great state, and the unique characteristics and challenges of each of our school districts. The Chester County Intermediate Unit's Superintendent Search Services prides itself on providing comprehensive search services tailored to the needs of each school district.”

Meola said that the Kennett School Board members were confident that the CCIU’s assistance would be very beneficial during the upcoming search.

“The CCIU has been an excellent partner to the school district for many, many years,” Meola said.