The Fairfax County School Board is expected to select Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates as the consultants who will help lead the system in the search for its next superintendent.

In a vote scheduled for Thursday, the full board will consider a contract for $35,000 for the same firm that found both Montgomery County Superintendent Joshua Starr in 2011 and current Fairfax County Superintendent Jack Dale in 2004.

Dale announced last fall his plans to retire in June 2013.

The contract also includes additional reimbursement of approved expenses, according to school board documents released Monday.

The system received five proposals from search firms after sending a request for proposal for consultant services this summer, according to school board documents.

The board's Selection Advisory Committee (SAC), comprised of nine of its 12 members, met Aug. 8 in an open meeting to "review the procurement process," board documents said.

They met eight more times in closed meetings this fall; a subcommittee of that group met again in a closed meeting Oct. 19.

The search will be the first for eight of the board's 12 members.

Pat Hynes, the board's vice chairman and chairman of the Selection Advisory Committee, told Patch on Tuesday the firm was chosen after a "lengthy review of proposals from several firms" because "they seem to be the firm that has the experience and the resources that we need to conduct this search."

"We feel confident that they will be able to support us," Hynes said, noting they have done this "many times successfully" both within the system and across the country. 

This article has been updated.

See also:

Board Prepares to Review Superintendent Search Consultants

Board Begins Hunt for Superintendent Search Firm

Superintendent Search: Board Looks To Montgomery For Guidance