The School Committee on Saturday chose national firm Ray and Associates, at a price of $15,500, to assist its search for a new superintendent.

Though the price tag was $7,000 more than the runner-up, the Boston-based Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC), members hoped the Iowa-based firm's reach would be able to provide a variety of potential candidates.

"There's no question that the level of professional services that we would get out of Ray and Associates would be far superior to MASC," said School Committee Chair Geoff Swett.

Swett and School Committee member Rhonda Veugen said they were discouraged by the candor of a representative of MASC, who told the committee that it could expect to hire someone who has never held the position of superintendent, someone internal, or "a retread," and furthermore, that MASC measured success of its placements by whether they were offered and signed a second, generally three-year contract with the district in which they were placed.

To compare, Ray and Associates said candidates placed in school districts such as Wareham's stayed an average of 7.6 years.

Swett noted that the School Committee would get more for its money -- even if the price tag was more expensive -- if the chosen candidate stays for more than three years.

School Committee member Cliff Sylvia, a retired school administrator who works as an education consultant, was not convinced that the national firm was the way to go, especially because of the difference in price.

"Nationwide searches are good, but what nationwide searches produce are retired superintendents ... who are looking to pad their retirement by another superintendency in another state," Sylvia said. He argued that MASC has "the same outreach" as Ray and Associates. "What they don't have is an internal pool of applicants" that they have already worked with.

Still, Swett said he appreciated the level in which the School Committee is involved in a Ray and Associates search.

"We're involved in this a lot throughout, whereas the MASC process is much more building, building, building, until they finally present the finalists and then we get to choose," said Swett.

The School Committee voted 4-1 to hire Ray and Associates, with Sylvia in opposition. Members then entered executive session to work out contractual details.

The School Committee plans to appoint a search committee consisting of various town and school officials, and community members, to narrow down candidates as applications come in.

Superintendent Dr. Barry Rabinovitch, who has held the post for nearly four years, announced his retirement on Dec. 5, saying that he perceived his annual evaluation, completed earlier this fall, to be an "injustice." His retirement is effective July 31, 2013.