ISLE OF WIGHT—The Isle of Wight County School Board voted Tuesday to use the Virginia School Boards Association’s services to help find its next superintendent. The fee will be $10,000 plus expenses.

“That’s quite a bit of money,” said board Chairman David Goodrich.

However, professional companies that conduct searches charge higher fees, he said.

The School Board is beginning its search for a new superintendent to replace Dr. Michael McPherson, who plans to retire June 30. McPherson, who’s led the division since 2002, announced his plans to retire in December.

“We should begin the process now so that we do have somebody on board by July 1,” Goodrich said.

Dr. George Bradby, who represents the Newport District on the School Board, said a superintendent search is “something not to be taken lightly.”

“I’ve been through two of them, and they are very time-consuming,” he said.

The board also voted Tuesday to make the School Board Clerk Sharon Gwaltney sole custodian of all records and information relative to the superintendent search and to make Goodrich the spokesman for the search.

Goodrich told his fellow board members they needed to be unified in the search.

“We are not going to get the candidates that we want to lead this division if they see a fractured board,” he said. “They’ve got to see us working together.”

The board also plans to set some meeting dates for community stakeholders to provide input on the search.