The city’s School Committee met Tuesday night, laying out plans to press ahead with a search for a new superintendent after Dr. Brenda Cassellius announced her departure.

Cassellius expects to leave in June, offering a short timeline for the search for her permanent successor.

The seven-member committee heard from Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees and a veteran of superintendent searches. The job of Boston schools superintendent is a tough and high-profile one, he noted, and up there with the police commissioner and the Red Sox manager.

Superintendent candidates also appear to have something in common with high school students. Koocher said 80 percent of applications for the job will arrive in the last few weeks of the process.

Michael O’Neill, vice chair of the School Committee, noted that there are superintendents looking to leave their districts for another job, but some are heading outside the industry, moving to foundations or academic work. Others are reluctant to leave their current district amid a pandemic, he added.

But Boston should still prove to be a big draw, O’Neill continued, citing the higher education community, the business community, and the recent historic election of Mayor Michelle Wu, who is also the first Boston Public Schools mother to serve as chief executive.

A request for proposals from search firms, as well as a separation agreement with Cassellius, are among the items on the agenda for the School Committee’s March 2 meeting.

Cassellius was hired by Mayor Marty Walsh in 2019, and her contract was renewed for two years last June. She is paid a $311,000 annual salary. Cassellius’ early departure could mean she receives a $450,000 payout, or 18 months of her base salary, WCVB reported earlier this week.

Cassellius is the fifth Boston superintendent in a decade.

The search for a new superintendent comes as Wu looks for a new police commissioner, a climate change czar, and a new chief of planning to reform the Boston Planning and Development Agency, among other open positions inside CIty Hall.