The search for a new superintendent for the Morgan Hill School
District is finally under way, and the community is being asked
what kind of leader our public schools need. It appears as if the
search is off to a good start.
The search for a new superintendent for the Morgan Hill School District is finally under way, and the community is being asked what kind of leader our public schools need. It appears as if the search is off to a good start.
Janet and Rudi Gatti of RJ Gatti Associates have been hired by the School Board to conduct the search. They spent two days last week meeting with local leaders to find out what they think is important in a new superintendent. Two community forums, open to the public, also were held to gather comments.
Here’s our wish list:
• Communication – The next superintendent needs to be able to communicate effectively with all parts of the community. From parents to district employees, from other community leaders to trustees, the superintendent needs to value the input of the wide variety of district stakeholders. The superintendent needs to value, not shun, criticism as an opportunity to improve the performance of our schools.
The new superintendent needs an open, not condescending, attitude toward parents. Perhaps using the newspaper to communicate with the community with a monthly column that doesn’t contain a word of “education-ese” would be a good place to start.
• Management – The next superintendent must be a skilled manager who can handle large budgets, complex projects and the difficulties of receiving state and federal money with strings attached. With education budgets tight and getting tighter, we cannot afford to waste a dime of school funds on bad decisions. The “ordinary negligence” of recent years is a shameful record that must change. Given the challenges the district will face if Coyote Valley development becomes a reality, “ordinary negligence” will mean disaster on a vast scale and a big stage if the district doesn’t hire a superintendent with top-drawer management skills.
• Partnership – The next superintendent must value partnership and teamwork, and that includes valuing ideas and agendas other than his or her own. It’s important to view parents, teachers and the larger community as partners in improving education, not impediments. It’s important, especially in these difficult fiscal times, to keep an open mind toward educational innovation, and to not be wedded to a particular educational agenda or philosophy.
The new superintendent needs to value the staff that’s in place. For the most part, the district is blessed with good principals who know their students. The new superintendent must value their input – whether or not they share the superintendent’s philosophy – and let the principals do their jobs.
Looking at that short, three-item list, we wonder if such an ideal candidate exists. For the sake of Morgan Hill’s students and taxpayers, we hope so.
Our students complete with students from Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Cupertino for spots at the UCs, Cal State and private colleges and universities. Right now, our kids are not even on the same playing field, let alone on an even playing field.
There are deep divisions in the community that a new superintendent must heal. There are huge challenges facing the district that have barely been addressed.
Whoever is hired faces a difficult job. But we believe that if the new superintendent is a skilled communicator, manager and partner, the job of delivering high-quality education to our students can be done.
