PROVIDENCE — The search for a new education commissioner will kick off with a series of six regional forums throughout the state over the next six weeks to gather public comment on what Rhode Island needs in its next educational leader.

A 14-member search committee, led by the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education, will use the public comments to develop a profile, or “wish list” of qualities and experience candidates must possess.

Commissioner Peter McWalters announced last spring that he will step down in June 2009 after 17½ years on the job. McWalters is one of the longest-serving education commissioners in the country.

The search committee plans to hire a recruiting firm to further define the job description and identify potential candidates, said regents Amy Beretta and Angus Davis, co-chairs of the search committee. About $75,000 has been set aside for the search firm, and bids are due at the state Department of Administration by Friday. Beretta and Davis said they plan to select a search firm by Oct. 15 and have a job description in place by early December.

“We don’t want the description to be too narrow because some candidates may come from nontraditional backgrounds, and we want as broad a field of qualified candidates as possible,” Beretta said.

At a search committee meeting last week, a complex, sometimes contradictory, vision of the state’s new education chief emerged.

The next commissioner should shake things up, be willing to take risks and not be afraid to anger some people, even if it means a short tenure, said some committee members.

“We need someone who will break down doors,” said William Daugherty, a board member of the National Federation for Teaching Entrepreneurship who sits on the search committee. “The education system is broken. In order to fix it, someone is going to have to be willing to [tick] everyone off, parents, teachers. If someone is here 10 years, I just don’t see that happening.”

Others disagreed, saying the next leader needs to inspire enthusiasm and systemwide change without alienating teachers. If successful, they said, the next commissioner could remain in the position for several years, offering stability as well as transformation.

“We need to find someone who is knowledgeable about the inertia that has led us to where we are,” said Kathleen Mellor, a North Kingstown middle school teacher who also sits on the committee.

“I want someone who can stay for a while,” said committee member Meg O’Leary, codirector of The Learning Community, a charter school in Central Falls. O’Leary also said she is worried about the “relatively low pay” McWalters receives and staffing cuts at the state Education Department over the past two years.

McWalters is paid about $150,000 a year. Thomas M. Brady, Providence’s new superintendent, in contrast, is paid $190,000, plus $20,000 in deferred compensation and a $34,000 performance bonus.

The search committee members agreed the next commissioner must have political savvy; an ability to collaborate with business, foundations and the greater community; experience in leveraging financing from grants; and, above all, a history of successful results.

“We need someone who is not just willing to make change, but who has a proven track record in making change,” said Kenneth Wong, chairman of the education department at Brown University. “We need someone who can narrow the achievement gap, bring changes to a statewide scale and create a new culture of governance.”

The search committee plans to start reviewing resumés early next year. It hopes to have the field narrowed to 10 candidates by mid-January and down to 5 finalists by early February. A series of interviews and workshops will be scheduled in February, although it is unclear if any will be open to the public, Davis said.

“That is something we will be asking the search firm about,” Davis said. If all goes smoothly, a three-year contract would be negotiated and the new commissioner announced by early March, Davis said.

Six public hearings will be held across the state this fall to gather public input on what Rhode Island needs in a new education commissioner:

Oct. 16, from 4 to 6 p.m., Rogers High School, in Newport; Oct. 20, from 4 to 6 p.m., Hope High School, in Providence; Oct. 23, from 4 to 6 p.m., East Providence High School; Nov. 5 (tentative date), from 4 to 6 p.m., at Westerly High School; Nov. 10, from 4 to 6 p.m., at Warwick Veterans Memorial High School; and Nov. 13, from 4 to 6 p.m., at the William M. Davies Jr. Career and Technical High School, in Lincoln.

jjordan@projo.com