Comments on: School board wants to start superintendent hunt http://blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/chalkdust/2009/04/14/school-board-wants-to-start-superintendent-hunt/ Education news from the New River Valley. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:49:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Leonard http://blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/chalkdust/2009/04/14/school-board-wants-to-start-superintendent-hunt/#comment-841 Leonard Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:33:33 +0000 http://blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/chalkdust/?p=459#comment-841 The School Board Meeting last Tuesday revealed an interesting perspective on the previous Superintendent search conducted by Ray and Associates. Board member Penny Franklin, while on her "soapbox", pasionately stated that the VSBA representative stated that VA Tech was the biggest asset to our community in terms of getting the top candidates to apply within this region. To which Ms. Franklin replied by hanging up and ending the teleconference. Ms. Franklin's actions and subssequent statments relative to finding a search firm AGAIN says more about her lack of understanding of the job market for this region than it does about the limitations of Ray and Associates. Granted, I'm not a fan of the former search firm. I believe they were guided by a minority of board members with a mandate. A mandate the VSBA would not subscribe to. Ms. Franklin should recognize that the people are drawn to the New River Valley for higher educational opportunity and for workforce prospects with regional corporate business and industry. People choose to stay in this area for a myriad of reasons to include the Montgomery County Public School System. So lets get real. The Montgomery County School Board is a member of the VSBA. As a member, they can utilize the services of the VSBA as a search firm at a substantially reduced rate as compared to that of a private search firm. The money saved would show a "good faith effort" in being responsible consumers of taxpayers money during economic hard times. Ms. Franklin should consider all options available to this board before participating in a Superintendent search AGAIN. If she is unwilling, then I hope Wendell Jones is present for the next meeting... The School Board Meeting last Tuesday revealed an interesting perspective on the previous Superintendent search conducted by Ray and Associates. Board member Penny Franklin, while on her "soapbox", pasionately stated that the VSBA representative stated that VA Tech was the biggest asset to our community in terms of getting the top candidates to apply within this region. To which Ms. Franklin replied by hanging up and ending the teleconference.

Ms. Franklin's actions and subssequent statments relative to finding a search firm AGAIN says more about her lack of understanding of the job market for this region than it does about the limitations of Ray and Associates. Granted, I'm not a fan of the former search firm. I believe they were guided by a minority of board members with a mandate. A mandate the VSBA would not subscribe to.

Ms. Franklin should recognize that the people are drawn to the New River Valley for higher educational opportunity and for workforce prospects with regional corporate business and industry. People choose to stay in this area for a myriad of reasons to include the Montgomery County Public School System. So lets get real.

The Montgomery County School Board is a member of the VSBA. As a member, they can utilize the services of the VSBA as a search firm at a substantially reduced rate as compared to that of a private search firm. The money saved would show a "good faith effort" in being responsible consumers of taxpayers money during economic hard times.

Ms. Franklin should consider all options available to this board before participating in a Superintendent search AGAIN. If she is unwilling, then I hope Wendell Jones is present for the next meeting...

]]> By: TL http://blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/chalkdust/2009/04/14/school-board-wants-to-start-superintendent-hunt/#comment-813 TL Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:42:51 +0000 http://blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/chalkdust/?p=459#comment-813 Chairman Jones is mis-remembering, I believe. When Fred Morton was granted a release from his mutli-year contract and left mid-school year and Dr. Anderson was subsequently hired, Ray & Associates was hired from among six firms considered. The VSBA services were also considered, yet not utilized for several reasons (among them, cost and that they didn't negotiate salaries). The RFP and resulting contract with the search firm did include negotiations once a potential candidate was decided upon, yet at that point the search firm was absent having other more pressing business to attend to. This part of the process was then addressed by the chair with guidance from the full board and legal counsel. The VSBA was not involved. The biggest challenge that I remember was setting a timeline that met the 180 day requirement which provided for community and employee input, and noting most viable candidates had jobs already and were unable to begin work before July 1 when contracts renewed. Chairman Jones is mis-remembering, I believe. When Fred Morton was granted a release from his mutli-year contract and left mid-school year and Dr. Anderson was subsequently hired, Ray & Associates was hired from among six firms considered. The VSBA services were also considered, yet not utilized for several reasons (among them, cost and that they didn't negotiate salaries). The RFP and resulting contract with the search firm did include negotiations once a potential candidate was decided upon, yet at that point the search firm was absent having other more pressing business to attend to. This part of the process was then addressed by the chair with guidance from the full board and legal counsel. The VSBA was not involved. The biggest challenge that I remember was setting a timeline that met the 180 day requirement which provided for community and employee input, and noting most viable candidates had jobs already and were unable to begin work before July 1 when contracts renewed.

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