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| Chairperson Carolyn Bradford (center) reads a job announcement for a new schools superintendent at Monday's work session of the Dade County Board of Education. From right to left are board members Johnny Warren, Cindy Shaw, Bradford, Acting Superintendent Cherie Swader and board member David Powell. Missing is member Jeff Forester, who is not seeking reelection in this year's midterms. |
By
Robin Ford Wallace
Are
you a certified Georgia academic leader, or in any case eligible for certification,
a strong leader and able to work well with others? If so, you may also be eligible to be the new schools superintendent the Dade
County Board of Education is seeking – as long,
that is, as you are also enthusiastic.
The
Dade Board of Education officially launched its search for a new school system boss
at an informal work session on Monday afternoon. BOE Chairwoman Carolyn Bradford saved the announcement for last, waiting
until acting Superintendent Cherie Swader – the former second-in-command appointed
to fill the gap left by the early contract buyout of former Superintendent
Shawn Tobin, effective last month – had taken board members through a laundry
list of routine agenda items before reading a prepared release about the
search.
“The
Board has devoted extensive time to discussion of qualifications desired of the
next Superintendent,” reads the statement.
“Qualifications and traits identified by the Board include enthusiasm,
strong leadership, and the ability to work closely with the system’s current
employees.”
“Extensive
time” in this case boils down to the three weeks or so since, at a special
called meeting on Feb. 20, the board gave Tobin the shove and a $44,500 check
to buffer it; and the schedule Ms. Bradford provided in the release made it
clear that the board intends to proceed just as briskly with replacing him. Deadline for receiving applications is about
a month from now, 4 p.m. on April 14, and after conducting interviews through
May 10 the board hopes to name a new super in the week of May 12-19, installing
him or her in his or her spacious new Tradition Lane office by July 1.
If
it seems like a matter of marrying in haste, Dade County has
not of late been in the habit of cultivating long-term relationships with its school superintendents. The new hiree will be the fourth since the beginning
of the century. Tobin’s bare three
years at the top, riddled with controversy almost from the beginning, were
preceded by the less turbulent administration of Patty Priest, who left the job
amid general approbation to seek a planned retirement; but her predecessor,
Judy Bean, departed under darker auspices after a series of well-publicized
wrestling matches with the board.
Superintendent
Tobin drew attention to the school system through banning a National-Book-award-winning
novel from the high school; defunding the already struggling Dade County
Library; and, latterly, campaigning to amend a local tax break that allows seniors
to exempt their houses of however high a value from school taxes.
The
release issued by the school board says student enrollment systemwide in Dade
is 2,237, with a teaching and support staff of 310. There are four schools in the system.
The
school board will post its advertisement for a new superintendent through the
Georgia School Board Association, the Georgia School Superintendents
Association, the Regional Education Service Agencies (RESA), and mailings to
school systems.
To
qualify, applicants must submit a cover letter, resume, references, completed
job application obtained from the school system, and copy of Georgia leadership
certificate or evidence of eligibility for same. An application and job description are available at the school
system’s website, dadecountyschools.org.
The
website also invites interested parents to participate in a “Dade County
Superintendent Search Survey.”
The
advertisement does not specify salary but a Georgia open records website lists
the outgoing superintendent’s fiscal year 2013 salary as $106,904.33 with
travel allowance of $1550.
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| At the work session were candidates Alan Painter, who is running for the Georgia House of Representatives, and Summer Kelley, who is vying for the District 2 school board seat to be vacated by Jeff Forester -- but who was at the meeting in her role as journalist, videotaping the meeting for the local television station. |
Proposed
schedules include instructional days of 171, 170 and 169, down from the 180 days
of yore but improved over the budget-shaved roster of 168. Ms. Swader said the system will add one, two
or three days back in, depending on what news comes up from Atlanta after the
Georgia legislative session concludes in coming weeks.
Proposed
starting dates for the school year are Aug. 20, 21 or 22, with end dates of May
27 through 29, depending on funding.
Ms.
Swader said funding may one day be available to restore schools to the full 180
days, which after years of calendar slashing may – in Shakespeare’s words, not
Ms. Swader’s – make “summer’s fair have all too short a rent” indeed. “That’s going to be pretty much a shock on
everybody, so this is more a gradual movement on that,” she said.
Otherwise, Ms. Swader asked the board to
consider spending for various capital projects, including a new roof for the
high school, new equipment for the nutrition program and purchase of a new car
for staff travel.
Staffers
are currently saving the system mileage money by using for their required job
travel two 2007-model automobiles the system bought for since-discontinued driver’s
education classes, said Ms. Swader; but drivers of one of the vehicles, a
Taurus, are experiencing mysterious noises and distressing dashboard lights.
Ms.
Swader also said she hoped to have available for next week’s regular meeting of
the board an Atlanta expert to advise board members about seeking funds to
replace its ailing heating and air conditioning system.
That
meeting is at 6 p.m. Monday in the school board office in front of the high
school, off Highway 136 East.
robinfordwallace@tvn.net
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