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SIERRA VISTA — Turnout was low but discourse was high as the Sierra Vista school district governing board held two public sessions on Wednesday regarding what’s wanted, needed or expected from a new superintendent.
Both sessions were facilitated by John Gordon of the Arizona School Boards Association, the organization contracted to perform the professional search services to fill the vacancy when Renae Humburg retires July 1, 2008, after 12 years as the local schools’ chief executive officer.
All board members were present for both forums and were asked to not speak, so as to allow Gordon to elicit opinions, concerns and ideas from, starting at 4 p.m., district staff and faculty, then again at 7 p.m. from the public.
Interestingly, the employee stakeholders and the public-at-large were not all that far apart on what they hope the new boss will bring to the party and what Sierra Vista as both a community and a school district can give in return.
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Staffers, teachers and principals contributed that challenges to finding the right person involve the need for the maintenance and operations override to continue in order to maintain quality and variety of academic programs.
Other challenges are the rural nature of Cochise County, competition with charter schools and home-schooling, the mobility of the military population, the increase in voters who have no children in schools, and that some of the schools are physically running out of space.
On the positive side, a new superintendent will be challenged to maintain the reputation of academic excellence in the district, the good relations that exist internally among administration and employees, and the overall sense of “good faith” communication in the meet and confer (bargaining) process with certified and classified workers.
Asked what type of experience, background and knowledge a Sierra Vista superintendent should have, Kelly Segal, principal at Bella Vista Elementary School, believed classroom and administrative experience at the building level were highly important.
“A Ph.D. would be great, but not if it excludes a wonderful candidate,” she said. “It might be important for community perception.”
Penny Morris, director of curriculum for the district, felt a superintendent from a smaller district might make an interesting choice because he or she “might have had to do everything at that level.”
Gordon noted that 60 percent of new superintendents hired come from the ranks of assistant superintendents looking to move up, and of those, half are from outside the realm of the searching district.
Other qualities mentioned were an understanding of the military and their families, a moral compass, integrity, someone who really cares about children and staff and has courage to stand up for what they think is right.
On Wednesday evening, the public weighed in that a primary goal for a new leader should be to restore and maintain fiscal confidence in the district and do the same with academic excellence.
“Do we even know what percentage of our high school graduates go on to college?” asked one gentleman among the 10 people who attended that session.
“The turnout tonight in this room is a challenge,” offered a former employee of the district. “There needs to be more of a positive engagement with the community. More reaching out.”
Dave Grieshop, an officer of the Fort Huachuca 50 and part-time economics instructor at Cochise College, encouraged the board to reduce its risk by offering a contract for only one year to its candidate of choice, with a promise of yearly extensions for satisfactory performance.
He also recommended that a background with a master’s degree in business administration would be advisable, and with two positions to be filled, only one experienced educator was needed in the top ranks.
Where the override is concerned, there was consensus that taxpayers have a long memory and that at a core level in Arizona, overrides function as a financial band-aid.
Almost as an aside, Gordon said that real reform can only come “when people like you get involved with e-mailing and phone calls to the legislators.”
It was agreed a new superintendent must maintain a strong working relationship with Fort Huachuca and help newcomers to the area that a well-performing school district is in their best interests whether they have children or not.
Other qualities and characteristics discussed included someone who is a trend-setter, is an advocate for public education, who is willing to take risks, who has implemented visions and reached goals and can lead the district from both the inside and outside — someone who would say, “If I don’t get things done, then feel free to look elsewhere.”
Once the profile is developed for the position, it will be advertised beginning in January for approximately eight weeks. The board hopes to identify the selected candidate in April to allow a smooth transition before Humburg’s departure.
“We’ve known that Renae would be retiring before long and some of us have already taken workshops and training in superintendent recruitment,” said board member Deb Scott following Wednesday night’s public input session. “So much will depend on the candidates themselves. If we don’t want to make an offer to anyone, we’ll hire an interim and put it back out there.”
Currently, 11 school districts in Arizona are seeking superintendents.
“So do you’ll think we’ll find this person who walks on water?” joked Gordon at the end of the afternoon session.
“It’s OK,” said Jo Merritt, district curriculum coordinator. “We’ll help them stay afloat.”
Another public session to be held today
One more public session on qualities, characteristics, experience required of a new superintendent of Sierra Vista schools will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. today in the board room of the district office building, 3555 E. Fry Blvd.
A survey for the public to answer questions regarding superintendent qualifications and critical issues facing the district will remain online from the district Web site at www.sierravistapublicschools.com through Dec. 17.
More than 200 people have filled out the survey thus far, with 28 percent identifying themselves as “community member with no children currently in schools.”
Teachers, at 25 percent, are the next largest group who have taken the survey, followed by parents at 20 percent.
Herald/review reporter Cindy Skalsky can be reached at 515-4611 or by e-mail at cindy.skalsky@svherald.com.
Taxed out wrote on Dec 7, 2007 1:20 PM: