The search for a new superintendent of schools in Portland kicked into high gear Thursday with a series of daylong meetings with students, teachers and school employees followed by two community forums in the evening.

The feedback gathered at those meetings, along with a relatively new online survey, will help an Illinois-based consultant develop a profile of the type of leader that Maine’s largest city would like to see in its next superintendent.

BWP & Associates will present its profile to the Portland School Board on Feb. 23. The board will thin the field of candidates to three finalists before a new superintendent is chosen in May. The replacement for Emmanuel Caulk, who left Maine last year to take a job in Kentucky, will begin work on July 1.

“We are not the Wal-Mart of executive search firms,” David Van Dyke, who moderated the community forum at King Middle School, told a group of about 15 parents and local residents. Van Dyke said his firm is currently conducting superintendent searches across the nation.

Members of the School Board and Interim Superintendent Jeanne Crocker did not attend the forums, which were held at King and Casco Bay High School. Crocker said officials wanted the forums to be open and free of pressure.

At King Middle School, where the student population is ethnically diverse, five interpreters in French, Somali, Spanish, Portugese and Arabic were available to translate the forum discussion – French was the only interpreter used.

Participants offered a broad range of opinions on what they would like to see in the city’s new superintendent.

Several people complained about how past superintendents used Portland as a stepping stone to jobs in other markets and never really connected with the students, staff or community. Others said Portland needs a leader who is a visionary and who can transform Portland schools into one of Maine’s best school districts.

Several people said the next superintendent should be already working in Maine, and a few went so far as to suggest the district recruit Crocker to remain for a few years or go after someone like Ken Kunin – South Portland’s new school superintendent.

Kunin served as principal of Reiche Community School and Deering High School, both in Portland, from 1998 through 2010 before accepting the South Portland post last year. His contract will expire in 2017.

“I want to hire someone who is going to stay here and not move on after two or three years,” said Timothy Wilson, a Portland resident, who started teaching in 1966. Wilson currently serves as director of the Maine Seeds of Peace program. “The person who is hired needs to understand this city and they need to understand what they are getting into.”

“That person doesn’t need to have a PhD or a doctorate degree,” Wilson said.

But City Councilor Edward Suslovic said, “I don’t think where they are from is all that important. We just need someone who is skilled at working with a diverse population.”

Van Dyke’s firm was hired by the Portland School Board last month to assist the board in its search. The school department agreed to pay BWP up to $25,000 for its services.

To fill out the online superintendent survey go to portlandschools.org and click on the ‘survey’ link. The surveys must be completed no later than Feb. 12.