ROARING SPRING — Following the announcement of Spring Cove School District Superintendent Betsy Baker’s upcoming retirement, board members discussed search options for a new administrator Monday night.

Baker is expected to leave June 30, 2026, completing 10 years on the job, she said.

During Monday’s discussion, board member Misti Fisher suggested an “in-house” superintendent search to save money.

Board member Alyssa McGregor supported Fisher’s internal superintendent search due to a “morale-boosting” element, rather than spending money on advertising.

The board is currently eying a $9,000 contract with the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools, which was the lowest offer from four companies, board President Amy Acker-Knisely said after the meeting.

The money will be taken from the district’s general fund balance. Following the auditor’s presentation Monday night, the district has $12,246,815 in its fund balance.

Staying mindful about spending taxpayer money, Acker-Knisely said a superintendent is ” an investment.”

“You’re a CEO of a $32 million company,” she said.

Spending money on a superintendent search is common practice for school districts.

From 2021-24, Centre County public schools have spent more than $36,000 on superintendent searches, according to the Centre Daily Times.

“There’s a lot of layers to each line” when it comes to searching for a superintendent, board solicitor

Jennifer Dambeck said during the meeting, adding that a potential superintendent must have “good records, input of staff and community” support.

“You want to have a superintendent that comes into the community knowing a solid search has been done and the individual has the community support,” she said.

The idea of choosing a “hybrid” search was brought to the table, where a select company would handle certain tasks, such as position advertising and application reviews.

Board Vice President Gretchen Bettwy said a hybrid search would be “the most thorough,” ensuring that each candidate is assessed according to documentation while also allowing everyone’s thoughts to be heard.

Dambeck said the superintendent search will begin during the district’s budget consideration, devoting the board’s time to meeting several candidates.

“If the board doesn’t have the time to devote to that, you’re still going to do regular committee meetings, potentially other committee meetings on top of voting meetings,” she said.

With a “limited time frame,” Baker said a lot goes into a superintendent search because “it does take time” for staff and candidates.

“It’s going to be here before we know it,” Acker-Knisley said.