The search has begun for a new superintendent for the Vicksburg Warren School District.

At the second called meeting since Superintendent Donald Oakes announced his retirement on Jan. 16, the board voted against hiring an outside consultant to help with the search, which could have cost the district as much as $8,000.

“We decided to go ahead without a consultant,” said board president Kay Aasand, the District 5 trustee. “We felt the money could be better spent in other areas of the school district.”

The board will hire someone in the community to be the contact person and handle the applications for the board.

At the next board meeting, scheduled for Feb. 20, the board will consider the timeline for the hiring process, advertising for the position, qualities they are looking for in candidates and the possibility of community involvement in the search, Aasand said.

District 1 trustee Chad Barrett, District 2 trustee Zelmarine Murphy and Aasand were serving terms when the board hired Oakes in 2000.

John Hartman, executive director of the Mississippi School Board Association, attended the meeting and discussed the process of selecting a superintendent.

“There is no job more important than the one you are about to embark on,” Hartman said. “You are about to select an individual who will be the chief executive officer of this school district.”

Hartman said school board members must totally commit themselves to the process of finding a qualified superintendant.

“It’s a sacrificial process,” he said.

Oakes did not stay at the board meeting for these discussions, but before leaving, he and the board approved a change order for the roofing projects at Vicksburg High and Vicksburg Junior High. The district will save about $16,000 on the Vicksburg Junior project, and $18,000 at the high school.