On The Search For A Superintendent

There are some things about municipal government that confuse me.

Chief among them is the evolution of the school superintendent position. I do not dispute the importance of the position. There are no doubt great responsibilities that go with supervising an entire schools system. Nine schools, an early childhood center, and now a Charter School require a lot of administrative oversight.

Handing a budget of $49.5 millions does require a certain amount of ability. The handing of personalities within the school system can, I am sure, be difficult.

All the above makes this position no different than that of many other department heads in the city, albeit few have a budget of that size. That is where I get confused.

Somewhere along the line, these superintendent positions have become the highest paid position in city government. Not just here in Salem, but everywhere. Why would an employee, who reports to a Chief Executive, make more money than the boss who handles the bigger budget and has the greater responsibilities?

Educating our children is, and should always be top priority, but somehow this has resulted in a nationwide system where superintendents bounce around from system to system, breaking contracts all in pursuit of our educational dollar.

As I spoke to people on what we need in a superintendent, I heard a lot of talk about qualifications and experience. These are important things to look at in filling any position, but sometimes in a job search, you can get too caught up in these details and fail to see the better candidate because he or she doesn't have the requisite degrees or perhaps has not held a lead position.

Do we really need someone who has led a school system before?

Do we really have to cast the net nation wide?

Will we just end up with a job shopping educational mercenary who will break his contract and move on as soon as fairer winds blow elsewhere?

Somewhere in our school system, or one close by, is the right person for this job. I fear we will not find this person because we are looking for a fast moving, low flying superstar. We had one of those a few years ago, we don't need another one.

What we need, simply put, is someone with some common sense and leadership skills. Who ever we choose must be able to deal with a diverse system in a way that will benefit the entire system. The man or woman chosen must be able to identify and correct problems as they occur, or better yet recognize and correct them before they become problems.

The main qualification I want to see brought to the table is long term commitment. Commitment to the job, commitment to the students, commitment to excellence, and above all, a commitment to stay the course for the entire term of the very generous contract.

Our kids, and, yes, our teachers, deserve better than to serve as a resume building stepping stones for someone who sees their own self interest as priority.

Let the other cities and towns keep shopping for hired guns