Trustees to begin discussion on process to find new
superintendent
Because of a decision by School Board trustees not to renew her contract, Morgan Hill School District Superintendent Carolyn McKennan will be leaving the district at this time next year, and trustees say they are just beginning to look at the process to find a new superintendent.
No details on how the process will work have been decided.
“We’re looking into it,” Board President George Panos said Monday.
Trustee Jan Masuda, who is completing her second term on the board, said she remembers serving on a community interview panel when McKennan was hired.
“That was at the point I was just getting involved with the district,” she said. “I remember that the CSBA (California School Board Association) was involved. I think the CSBA charges in the neighborhood of $30,000 for the search, from start to finish.”
Masuda said that she and Panos were setting the agenda for the next board meeting on June 28, and she would know more after that.
“But whether we use the CSBA or if there is another organization that provides the same service we can look at, I feel sure the community will be involved at several levels,” she said.
Community Alliance for Responsible Education (CARE) spokeswoman Victoria Battison said Monday the group is recommending that trustees begin the search as soon as possible.
“We strongly urge the immediate initition of a search for a replacement for our superintendent as she will be leaving in one year,” said Battison. “One year is a very short time to find a replacement CEO, which is essentially what she is.
“It is crucial that we have an overlap time to insure a smooth transition between Mrs. McKennan and the new superintendent and facilitate the flow of knowledge between the two, especially in light of the fact that a significant percentage of our senior administration will be gone at that time.”
The new superintendent should be hired in time to select his or her top administrators, Battison added.
Battison said CARE also recommended that trustees get help with the search.
“We feel that the district should hire a head hunter or a professional consultant or agency to assist in the search,” she said.
Battison said it also was important that the public have input on the process for finding a new superintendent.
McKennan currently is paid $174,000 including $30,000 in longetviety bonus. She’s been superintendent since 1996 after serving as superintendent of the Soquel Elementary School District.
During the superintendent search that resulted in McKennan’s hiring, community members were invited to be a part of the process. Advice from community members and representatives from the district is included in the decision-making process.
“Ultimately, however, the board has the final decision,” said Masuda. “Some people don’t like that. I remember from the last time that there were people in the community who did not like that, but that’s the process, and if we have involved community members, representatives from each of our employee group, then we will have their opinions to help guide us.”
Trustee Mike Hickey echoed Masuda.
“We are in the process of looking at the process,” he said.
Trustees did not renew the contracts of McKennan or Assistant Superintendent Claudette Beay; contracts for Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini and Assistant Superintendents Denise Tate were extended for one year.
Tognazzini’s contract expires next June 30, as does McKennan’s and Tate’s; Beaty’s contract expires June 30 of this year.
