Latest local news, weather and sports for Syracuse and Central New York

The Syracuse City School Superintendent is one of the more powerful public sector jobs in Central New York. Syracuse is the state's fifth largest school district and the superintendent oversees a $400 million annual budget. Current Superintendent Dan Lowengard announced he will be retiring in June and parents, lawmakers and teachers are very interested in the upcoming search.

On Monday, the Syracuse School Board hosted a public forum to talk about how they will choose a search firm. That firm will help the district find superintendent candidates who have the qualifications and experience the school board is looking for. The firm will also allow potential candidates to inquire about the job while also protecting their privacy. Parents and lawmakers at the meeting said understand the privacy issues but they hope to be included in the search process.

"If people feel and do have a voice in who is brought in, they are invested in who is brought in,” said Pam Percival from Parents for Public Schools. “I don't think that can be understated how important that is that we build that kind of support in the process itself.”

Syracuse School Board President Richard Strong said the board wanted to start the search process early in hopes of attracting more candidates. The goal is to have an agreement in place with a new superintendent by sometime in March.