Community gives comments on the ideal superintendent

A meeting aimed at gleaning public comment to help the Baker School Board select a new superintendent drew a fifth-grader’s mom, the County Commission chair and a retired school administrator to the district office Wednesday night.

The session was led by Forrest Bell of the Oregon School Boards Association, which was hired to provide consulting services during the process.

Bell asked audience members — parent Debbie Poe, Commissioner Fred Warner Jr. and retired principal Mark Bogart — to consider points of pride for the district and things they would not want to see changed as well as the challenges ahead and the personal qualities and qualifications needed in a new superintendent to preserve the good and address the challenges.

Bell said he will use the information gathered in meetings with community members and staff to counsel candidates interested in applying for the position. Those candidates then will be asked to write to the board to explain why they would be the right person for the job.

Poe, secretary/treasurer of the South Baker Intermediate School’s parent-teacher organization, said after Wednesday’s session that she was willing to go out on a rainy evening to attend the meeting because of her concern for the school district’s future.

At its Tuesday meeting, the Baker School Board considered the possibility of replacing Deon Strommer, board chair, because he is working out of town and might not be available to interview and select finalists during the superintendent search.

Norma Nemec, executive secretary, said today that she checked with Strommer Thursday and he will continue his service on the board and actively participate in the search process.

In addressing qualities and qualifications of a new superintendent, Poe said she would encourage the board to look for an innovative person to help the schools succeed in the future.

“Baker’s a tough place to come to and be innovative,” she said. “It’s hard to come in and be the new person with big ideas.”

Still, she hopes the board will seek out a leader who can come up with new ways to handle the financial stress the schools will face in the coming years.

Warner said the No. 1 quality he would look for would be an “extremely collaborative individual.”

“I don’t think we’re going to see a sharp uptick in revenue over the foreseeable future,” he said. “They are going to have to figure out how to do things with limited resources.”

Warner also recommended that the board seek a person with “a proven ability to communicate with teachers, parents and the press” and other stakeholders.

Poe said she found the district lacking in that area this spring when the decision was made to close two school buildings and move students to grade-level rather than neighborhood schools.

“They already had a plan together before they went public,” she said. “I would have liked to have seen more parent involvement before they went public.”

In past years, Poe said her son attended Brooklyn School, just two blocks from their home.

This year she is driving him daily to South Baker School, which serves students in Grades 4-6. Brooklyn is home to Grades 1-3 this year; and kindergartners were moved to a wing of Baker High School where Poe’s 3-year-old daughter will be heading soon.

North Baker School was closed and staff was redistributed throughout the district this year. The Central Building on the Baker Middle School campus also was closed and all middle school classes, except wood shop, were moved to the Helen M. Stack Building.

Poe said the changes have left many parents feeling disconnected from the schools.

“Parents have to buy in,” she said. “Parents who were helping out aren’t helping out now.”

Just a few are volunteering to help with the South Baker PTO, she said, including a small number of former North Baker School parents, who have been known for their fundraising success and volunteer efforts in the past. Teachers also have struggled to adjust to the changes, Poe said.

Bogart said trust will be an important issue to consider in hiring a new superintendent.

“If people think you’re pulling something, they’re not going to support; they’re not going to engage,” he said, adding that trust must work both ways for the new leader to succeed.

In closing the hour-long session, Bell shared what some others listed in earlier sessions as desired qualities and qualifications:

• Consistent

• Highly ethical

• Understands his or her personal weaknesses

• Ready for a challenge

• Understands school culture and realizes that school districts are not businesses

• Good command of budget and finance

• Good listener

• Visionary

• Collaborative

No one attended a second public meeting scheduled Thursday night at the district office, Nemec said.

Those who were unable to attend any of the meetings, may comment by completing a survey posted on the district Web site: www.baker.k12.or.us.