Bridgeport — The Bridgeport Board of Education has begun the search to replace outgoing Superintendent Michael Testani, a process that could take up to six months to complete.

The school board voted unanimously last week to establish an executive search committee charged with selecting a new top administrator for the district. The newly formed committee includes all nine board members.

"This is the first step in the road that we go down to find our next superintendent," Board Chair John Weldon said at the Aug. 29 meeting.

The vote was held just days after Testani, who was recently awarded a contract extension by Bridgeport's school board, was hired by Fairfield Public Schools to lead the neighboring district as superintendent.

Weldon has said he hopes the board will name a new superintendent by the time Testani departs the school system on Nov. 23. But it is currently unclear if the board will meet that deadline.

Patrice McCarthy, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, told the board last week that the search will likely be a labor-intensive process that could take between four and six months to wrap up.

McCarthy suggested the board hire a professional search firm to help recruit potential applicants, prepare interview questions and narrow down the pool of candidates to a group of finalists.

She also recommended that they tap a retired superintendent to lead the school system on an interim basis during the duration of the search, noting the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents maintains a roster of recently retired administrators willing to temporarily serve.

"These are experienced individuals who can hit the ground running because they know how to run a school district," McCarthy said.

During the sometimes tense meeting, some parents and board members expressed frustration with Testani over his abrupt decision to leave the district during the start of the school year. Board member Albert Benejan said he felt betrayed by Testani's resignation and compared the move to being stabbed in the heart with a knife.

"It hurt me a lot because you were doing an amazing job here in Bridgeport schools," Benejan told Testani.

Benejan was one of six board members who voted in July to approve a new three-year contract for Testani. The extension was granted after Testani, who lives in Fairfield, agreed to give up vacation time in exchange for permission to live outside Bridgeport.

Board member Christine Baptiste-Perez, who voted against the contract extension due to residency concerns, said Testani's departure offers the city an opportunity to find an administrator who is willing to call the Park City home.

"I think it is imperative, especially in this situation now that the pie is all over our face as board members, that we choose a superintendent that's actually going to live in the district," she said.

At the public comment portion of the meeting, several parents and community members urged the board to find a superintendent who will address the district's ongoing teacher shortage and fight to secure funds to fix crumbling school buildings.

Among other suggestions, Gladys Walker-Jones, the chair of the education committee for the Greater Bridgeport NAACP, said the board should consider hiring a person of color who mirrors the composition of the student body and the city as a whole.

"Our interim and permanent superintendent needs to be reflective of our community and needs to be a highly qualified and certified school leader, preferably with superintendent experience," she said.