WEST TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)– The Vigo County Board officially selected on Monday the search firm they will work with as they look for a permanent superintendent.

The board chose the Indiana School Board Association after hearing presentations from five different firms, including several national ones. Vigo School Board President Amy Lore laid out the main reasons for the decision.

“There were added bonuses with the ISBA, particularly the software service [Revelus] that allows us to have access to all of the candidates, they vet the internal and external candidates with the same process, which I think the community needs,” she said.

Another reason for the decision came down to price tag– as the national firms that presented also brought along a price tag well over $10,000. 

“Three national organizations that are for-profit and have a much higher price tag,” she said. “Really, there was nothing that stood out from those that we thought was tremendously different [from in-state options.]”

The price point for the ISBA will be around $3,500.

The board’s choice came down to the ISBA and an Indiana State University search team– the same one that was used for the last search. Lore said the biggest difference for her was the ISBA’s process for vetting internal candidates– something the University search team did not do. 

The final vote tally was 6-1 in favor, with Jackie Lower being the sole dissenter. She said during the meeting she supported the board’s decision. As for next steps, Lore said they will get to work establishing the timeline for the search, which Steve Horton– the representative who spoke on behalf of the ISBA Monday– said would be around three months.

“We’re going to start having phone calls with them to have the board in line and together, and then I think we’ll start to see a lot more stakeholder sessions, community input, that sort of thing,” Lore said.