Weekend Retreat 2012

The board held another retreat, this one a little longer and with a little bit more substance on the agenda. Although all the items on the agenda were discussion based, the board did move forward with the plan to hire an interim superintendent to help stabilize the district while we search for a new permanent superintendent.

The budget discussion kicked off the retreat. Central administration staff members are currently working with other staff in the district to identify possible areas where expenses might be trimmed. The deficit amount that seems to be floating around the district is $20 million. This number came from a projection made last year that took into account an estimated increase in the amount of money mandated by the state to pay for the state run retirement system. Currently, that rate is about 24 percent and is estimated to go up to near 27 percent. — Quick explanatation — the state runs a system called the Michigan Public School Employee Retirement System (MPSERS). In order to pay for pensions and health care for retirees from public schools in Michigan, local districts are assessed a fee on their payroll.

Added to the upcoming budget conversation is the fact that the financial components of our contracts with our employee groups are open for negotiation this year. The process for negotiations will begin soon. Hopefully the process can be productive and all “sides” can come together to accomplish good things for the district, employees and students.

There was also some discussion about the monetary threshold that triggers board approval on professional services contracts. The board will be looking more closely at what is an appropriate amount of money to give leave for district staff to pursue without board approval. More on that at a later time.

As reported in the Lansing State Journal this morning, the board will be moving forward with interviews for an interim superintendent. At our first board meeting of the year, the board voted (8-1, I might add), to authorize the board officers to begin seeking out resumes for the position and bring those resumes back to the full board for consideration. The officers have made contact with 12 individuals and 4 have expressed interest in the position. The board decided that, schedule provided, we’ll have a special meeting on Thursday to interview the following four candidates:

• John Artis, who retired in 2008 after six years as superintendent of Dearborn Public Schools.
• Yvonne Caamal Canul, a former Lansing administrator who has worked for the state Department of Education's Office of School Improvement and served as a consultant to the Lansing School District last fall.
• Deborah Clarke, former superintendent in the Buena Vista district near Saginaw and the Zion-Benton Township High School District in Illinois.
• Marsha Wells, who left her post as superintendent of Portage Public Schools near Kalamazoo in June.

Let me explain the thinking on this process. Dr. TC Wallace has a contract with the district that expires on June 30, 2012. It’s the goal of the board to have a permanent superintendent in place by that date. However, this might not happen. I have full confidence that we will accomplish this goal, but it’s also responsible for us to plan for all contingencies. The interim superintendent will begin in the district and begin learning the ropes from Dr. Wallace. The interim will then be well positioned to help with the permanent superintendent once he/she is hired. It was reported that Dr. Wallace is a finalist for an out of state superintendent position. Although I wish him well, it’s further evidence that we need to plan for contingencies.

The board also discussed the process for developing a vision statement for the district. It was decided that this process can be done with the interim in place and in conjunction with the community input process associated with the search for a new superintendent. I feel it’s important that the board develop a vision so the new superintendent can begin implementing that vision. Several ideas were thrown out about the core of that vision. Those ideas included getting each student career ready and college capable, strengthening early childhood education, utilizing technology more fully and improving the perceived safety and climate of our schools.

With that, we ended the morning meeting a little after noon. All in all, a productive session for discussion and thought.