The Board of Trustees for Jackson Public Schools hopes to have a new superintendent in place as soon as July, according to a document released by the board to solicit applicants.

“The Board anticipates that the new superintendent will commence employment under a contract effective no later than July 1, 2017,” the document states.

Earlier this week, the Board of Trustees voted to conduct a national search for the district’s next superintendent using an outside firm. The board will choose one firm based on qualifications set forth in their request for proposal, which states the candidates must have at least 10 years of experience conducting superintendent searches. The deadline to submit a proposal to board counsel Dorian Turner is 5 p.m. Jan. 24, according to the document.

Former superintendent Cedrick Gray resigned last year after the district received an F rating from the state’s accountability system. JPS now faces a potential downgrade of the school district’s accreditation status.

JPS spokesperson Sherwin Johnson said the board used Ray and Associates for the previous search.

Applicants are required to provide detailed summaries of the services they intend to provide, a breakdown of costs and fees,  resumes of each employee who will work with the board and other information.

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Kayleigh Skinner joined the Mississippi Today team in January 2017 as an education and legislative reporter and advanced to a senior staff member in her four years with the company. Before joining Mississippi Today, Kayleigh worked at The Hechinger Report, Chalkbeat Tennessee, and The Commercial Appeal. She has appeared on MSNBC, NPR, and BBC Newsday Radio to discuss her reporting.