School boards usually use search firms to help them find superintendents, Schoell said, but that can cost upward of $35,000.

During the first part of the search, Tolle will sit down with different focus groups — teachers, parents, other community members, the Board of Education — and ask them what qualities and skills they think the new superintendent should have. From that information, Tolle and Brown will create a profile to help them in their search.

The district will buy ads in newspapers and educational publications, and Brown and Tolle will cull the list to the best-qualified candidates to present to the board. But Schoell assured those who attended the meeting that the board would looking carefully at every application.

“We want to see all the applications, but then we want [Brown and Tolle] to narrow it down to who they feel the top six or seven candidates are and why,” Schoell said.

To help give him time to conduct the search, the board granted Brown an additional 15 vacation days. They will not add to his pay, and he must use them by the end of the year.

The final part of Brown’s retirement package the board approved last week was a contract with him to work as a consultant to the new superintendent for four years, assisting on financial matters, including the budget, fund balances, reserve funds, contracts, pension funds and long-term planning.

In his post-retirement capacity as consultant, Brown will report to the new superintendent, not the board. He will be paid $25,000 per year for his work. The contract must be renewed each year by both Brown and the board, and either party can choose not to renew it at the end of the year.

“After 30 years of service to the community, 30 years of Oceanside spending less than the county average, this board wanted to tap into Dr. Brown’s financial acumen and command for economics,” said Schoell. “We have continued to spend around $4,000 per student less than the county average. That translates to $25 million less per year than the county average.”