Superintendent search called board's top job

The director of superintendent search services for the Nebraska Association of School Boards discussed with two patrons of the McCook Public Schools district Monday evening the hiring of a new school superintendent, "the most important thing a school board ever does."

Marcia Herring, of the NASB, Lincoln, spent all day Monday visiting with board members, administrators, certificated and classified staff and junior and senior high students about what kind of person they want to replace Dave Schley, the interim superintendent who will finish his second year in McCook at the end of June.

Herring then set aside an hour in the evening to ask members of the public the same three questions she asked groups during the day: What are the strengths of the McCook school district and community? Identify issues that may have an impact on the school district in the next five years, and Identify the personal and professional skills and/or characteristics an individual must possess to be successful as McCook's superintendent.

Two patrons arrived during the appointed hour to discuss the superintendent search with Herring.

When Herring asked eighth grader Dylan Hays what attributes the new superintendent should have, Hayes turned the tabled and asked Herring, "What exactly does a superintendent do?"

"This empty room is reflective of the fact that the community ... parents ... patrons oftentimes do not understand what a superintendent does," Herring told Hayes. Parents most often interact with teachers, and with board members, Herring said, but rarely on the level of the superintendent.

Herring told Hayes that the textbook description is that the superintendent sets policy with the board. He/she helps define the budget and, working with the administrators and principals, helps define the education to be presented to students, Herring said. He/she troubleshoots when learning and/or teaching aren't up to par.

A superintendent is also a link to the community, Herring said, building a working relationship between the school and the community by impacting the education of its children, employing its citizens, attracting new families.

Hays said then that the superintendent must be a good leader and decision-maker. He must be visible, and approachable, explaining that he has seen Mr. Schley "around the school quite a bit."

Hays said a challenge for any superintendent in the McCook system will be the number of McCook teachers nearing retirement, and attracting quality teachers to fill those positions. Christina Coleman said a concern of hers is school funding/financing and the addition and deletion of programs and classes. Herring agreed, saying that schools will make financial cuts "as far away from classrooms as possible," although sometimes that's unavoidable.

Coleman said she sees advantages to a superintendent who can develop strong ties between the school and the business community. Ties to McCook Community College are also invaluable, Herring said, bringing tremendous diversity to educational opportunities for high school students.

Herring said patrons who are interested in the superintendent search are encouraged to answer these same three questions using any one of the following methods:

1. Access an online form

Instructions:

Click on Current Positions Available

Click on McCook Public Schools

Scroll to the bottom of the district web page

Click on Staff and Community District Assessment Survey

Complete the Survey

Click on Submit Assessment

2. Email: mherring@nasbonline.org

3. Fax: (1) 402-423-4961

4. Mail: Nebraska Association of School Boards, Att: McCook Supt. Search, 1311 Stockwell Street, Lincoln, NE 68502

A copy of Herring's questions is available at the McCook Superintendent's Office in the senior high. School officials have placed the questionnaire in newsletters and in children's "Thursday packets."

The questions are:

1. Identify the strengths of the McCook Public Schools and communities of the district:

2. Identify issues that may have an impact on the McCook Public Schools in the next several years.

3. Identify the personal and professional attributes (skills and/or characteristics) an individual must possess to be the successful superintendent for McCook Public Schools.

Answers to the questions will be gathered into one document to be shared with candidates for the superintendent position. Having the answers does not influence candidates' answers, Herring said, but it does give them insight into McCook's wants, needs and challenges.

The board will be given a list of all candidates who apply for the position, Herring said. All candidates are screened intensively, she said. "I will not narrow the list," Herring said, nor recommend any one candidate over another.

The board will develop its own interview process, specific and unique to the McCook school district.

"No two superintendent searches are ever alike," Herring said, just as no two school districts are alike.

Herring emphasized that the goal of the superintendent search is to "find someone who is a proven educator," someone who can insure the success of students.

Herring said there is interest in McCook's open superintendency, one of eight thus far this school year across Nebraska. "We do have people applying" for the McCook position, she said. The deadline is Friday, Jan. 2.

Herring declined to predict the ultimate number of candidates for the McCook position, and would not say whether or not recent concerns over board actions and squabbles amongst board members are affecting the number of candidates. "I never, ever predict numbers," Herring said. "I do not have a crystal ball."

"What is going to be important is that we understand who those individuals (candidates) are, and what they've done to be successful where they've been," Herring said. "And with the skill sets they have, can they be successful in what they have to do in this district? That's what we've got to define."

Herring said the search is not about "finding a warm body," to fill the McCook position. "I don't want you to hire just to hire," she said.

If the board is not comfortable with the slate of candidates, it can "pull the plug ... say time-out," Herring said, re-advertise, or ask Schley if he is interested in a third "interim" year and wait another year to hire a permanent superintendent.