BY ZACHARY REID

Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

Big change is coming at Richmond Public Schools.

Superintendent Deborah Jewell-Sherman's announcement that she would leave by the end of next school year has received the most attention, but she's not the only one on the way out.

The school system is trying to fill 14 administration posts -- including five of the top six just below the superintendent -- and could need as many as 10 new principals. (The full list is below.)

That level of change is unheard of in Richmond, said Harold Fitrer, the assistant superintendent of administrative and support service. He's among the top-tier professionals leaving the system when the fiscal year ends June 30.

"It's going to be a busy year," he said. "Part of the discussion is, how are we going to put this together?"

Complicating things is the tight time frame in which school systems can hire. With contracts for most employees typically running from July through June, positions not filled in the coming months could sit empty -- or be staffed on an interim basis -- until the end of next school year.

The human resources department, which reports to Fitrer, is interviewing for some positions. The staff has spoken with at least 25 people interested in the principal openings, and a search for curriculum specialists is well under way, Fitrer said.

Of bigger concern, though, is that the top administrators are hired by and report to the superintendent. Jewell-Sherman said she would not stay beyond the end of her contract -- about the time the 2008-09 school year is over -- but she has not ruled out leaving earlier.

"Timing is everything," Fitrer said. "One of the issues becomes, 'I work at the pleasure of the superintendent of schools.' So if I were sitting in Denver and wanted to apply for this job, and I knew the superintendent were leaving, I don't know that I would pick up the family and move."

The School Board this week approved a 15-person search committee for a new superintendent, but that person won't be in place in time to help with this round of hiring.

How to attract quality candidates during a period of transition led to a lively discussion Wednesday during the School Board Human Resource Committee meeting.

The key, said Jewell-Sherman, was creating an atmosphere in which the School Board and the superintendent were in concert on what direction the system should take.

"You don't have to destroy what's in place to make change," she said.

School Board member Chandra Smith, who chairs the human resources committee, said it was more natural progression than destruction.

"There are certain times in the age of an organization when change occurs," she said. "Sometimes, it all happens at one time. We're going to move forward."

While some of the positions will be filled from within -- "There's a lot of talent here," Fitrer said -- filling every position could be a problem.

"Historically, when you have this number, you don't get all of them from here," he said. "We always look very closely internally to see who's going to want to make that move, but the downside is, every time you move someone up, that creates an opening that you have to fill."

Any opening can present a problem in a business that competes for employees working on binding annual contracts.

"Finding the right people is too important to rush," said board member Keith West, who was not part of the committee meeting. "With a new school board and superintendent on the way, it would make good sense to put interim people in place until we can get the new board and top position filled. The work of teaching children will go on regardless."

On that point, no one in the committee meeting argued.

"What we know is, we can not put off school opening," Fitrer said. "The day after Labor Day, the kids will come. We have to be ready."

Openings at city schools

Wanted: Top-flight educators willing to work in an occasionally fickle environment. Richmond Public Schools is now accepting applications for work beginning July 1 for the following positions:

(1) Superintendent, pay range: negotiable; current superintendent earns $162,307

(1) *Chief operating officer, pay range: $90,298 - $141,797

(1) *Assistant superintendent, administrative and support service, pay range: $90,298 - $141,797

(1) *Executive director, elementary education, pay range: $82,321 - $131,784

(1) *Executive director, secondary education, pay range: $82,321 - $131,784

(1) *Chief, safety and security, pay range: $72,483 - $113,823

(1) Director, professional development, pay range: $77,991 - $122,474

(1) Manager, technology, pay range: $72,483 - $113,823

(3) Instructional specialists (Science; Social Science and History; and Business and Information Technology), pay range: $54,074 - $84,916

(4) Speech language pathologists, pay range: teacher scale; varies based on experience and education

(1) Elementary school principal (Carver), pay range: $67,363 - $105,785

(4) High school principals (Open, Community, Thomas Jefferson and George Wythe), pay range: $77,991 - $122,474

(3) Assistant principals (Wythe, John Marshall High School, Lucille Brown Middle School), pay range: up to $98,312

Other openings expected. Check the Web site -- www.richmond.k12.va.us -- for updates.

*These positions report to the superintendent, who recently announced she will leave the system by the time her contract expires in June 2009.

Contact Zachary Reid at zreid@timesdispatch.com