DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Decatur Public Schools have released a full timeline of the process that led to finding the district's new superintendent. 

In late June of 2021, the board hired Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA) at a cost of $24,950 to find the next district leader. The company conducted focus group interviews and meetings to develop a Superintendent Leadership Profile, which gathered 1,089 responses from stakeholder groups, including parents, students, teachers, support staff and others. 

That profile was presented to the board on Sept. 14, 2021. The open superintendent position was posted nationally, and resumes were accepted until Oct. 24, 2021. Interviews were scheduled with finalists, and the district ended up considering Michael Gaal and Dr. Malika Savoy-Brooks. 

After a Jan. 5, 2022 virtual forum, HYA told the board it learned Gaal could not obtain certification in Illinois. Because of what the district described as "irregularities in the superintendent search and the inconclusive outcome of the public forum," the board's majority did not want to move forward with Savoy-Brooks. 

The board did not pay its final 25 percent installment to HYA. 

According to the district, there was a board consensus to reach out to and speak with the Illinois Association of School Boards to help with the superintendent search, but this step was not taken because another internal candidate expressed interest. 

Dr. Rochelle Clark, who was assistant superintendent of support services for Decatur Public Schools, ended up being selected by the board after a Jan. 31 closed session meeting. In an open meeting on Feb. 8, the district voted to appoint Clark as superintendent. 

Clark's contract runs from Feb. 9, 2022 to June 30, 2025. Her salary is set to be $80,505.85 for the current school year (Feb. 9, 2022 to June 30, 2022) and will go up to $206,000 for 2022-23. 

Contract details can be found on page 37 of the PDF document attached to this story.Â