So what will the Wake County school board majority get for paying nearly double the price of the nearest competitor for hiring Heidrick & Struggles to be the superintendent search firm?
As noted in today's article, that extra money means Heidrick will recruit non-educators to be applicants for the position. School board member John Tedesco said they felt that Heidrick would do the best job of the search firms of getting national candidates and people from the non K-12 world.
While not saying that a non-educator would be hired, Tedesco pointed to all the educators who are in senior positions who could assist the new superintendent.
Click here for a comparison sheet of the costs for the four firms that were finalists. Once the N.C. School Boards Association became a non-issue after the board majority voted to leave the group, minority members had urged hiring Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates instead.
Hazard, which has extensive experience conducting K-12 supt. searches, offered to do the work for $39,500. That includes expenses.
Heidrick is charging $82,500. That doesn't include expenses.
Heidrick doesn't have that much experience hiring K-12 superintendents. But Tedesco pointed to Heidrick's experience in searches in higher education, the corporate world and the non-profit world.
Tedesco said he didn't think Hazard would have been as able to recruit non-educators to be applicants.
Tedesco also pointed as a positive how Heidrick helped the Broad Foundation hire its CEO.
Broad operates a superintendent's academy to help train people to work in urban school districts. It trains both educators and non-educators, such as lawyers and military officers, to be superintendents.
Erica Lepping, a Broad spokeswoman, said that educators lack the business and management skills that are possessed by people who work in business or the military.
“Does it make sense to have a multi-million dollar budget run by people who have no experience in running a business of that size?” Lepping said.
Tedesco said the cost of hiring Heidrick won't be a problem because of all the money they're saving paying Donna Hargens to be interim superintendent. She'll get $5,000 a month extra for the job once Del Burns leaves the payroll at the end of June. Burns was getting more than $20,000 a month to be superintendent.
Tedesco said that the savings from no longer paying Burns will pay for the search.
The next meeting of the superintendent's search committee could take place this week.
Comments
Where to start?
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 18:30 — MarvinSchwartzFirst, "we're paying for the superintendent search with the money we're saving by not paying Burns" has to be one of the stupidest things I have heard from the junta, and that's saying a lot given the list of dumb things they have said since last November. Shouldn't you really be saying you're paying for it with the money you're stealing from Hargens since she's doing two jobs and only being paid for one plus $5K? As Dan says, acting like you saved money because someone resigned is crazy. Plus, you would have to keep the vacancy open for six months to break even, if it was a zero sum game, which of course it is not. Yet another short-sighted, ill-informed view by the junta.
Second, can we stop dancing around the real issue? The reason for the selection of Heidrick over Hazard and NCSBA is simple - they are the only one who can deliver the junta a non-educator. I mean, isn't this where we're really headed? Tedesco's constant referencing of the Broad Foundation and Margiotta's service on a private school headed by a businessman ought to tell you how this story will end. Hazard and the NCSBA specialize in finding educational leaders. That is the only reason the junta can justify spending twice as much on Heidrick as Hazard, because they don't want the kind of results Hazard will produce - someone from the education field.
Third, and in the interest of fairness, I am as big of a critic of the junta as anyone, but was there anything new in this story that wasn't revealed two weeks ago when this decision was made? Is there a reason this story was dredged up today? You can forgive the N&O conspiracy crowd if they viewed this article as keeping the pot stirred up.
"Third, and in the interest
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 19:43 — Apexter"Third, and in the interest of fairness, I am as big of a critic of the junta as anyone, but was there anything new in this story that wasn't revealed two weeks ago when this decision was made?"
Thanks for that comment, Marvin. I was wondering the same thing.
Non-Educators
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 09:55 — Bob_SconcePosted elsewhere, but worth repeating. Joel Klein is Chancellor of the NYC schools and has no significant education background. He certainly wouldn't be able to meet the previous requirements -- no Ed.D, no experience in the last 10 years, etc...
I'm not saying that Joel Klein would be appropriate for Wake County. But, shouldn't the school board be able to decide that somebody like him is?
Also, the list Keung posted didn't include Baltimore, Philadelphia or (IIRC) LA among the districts that H&S has worked with.
Also posted elsewhere, but
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 23:04 — jeffrey1Also posted elsewhere, but worth repeating:
Some school districts that have gone "outside the box" for their superintendent include:
BTW, led by Joel Klein, African-American, Hispanic and low-income students of the New York City schools outperformed similar students in other large cities and nationwide.
Okaloosa County's
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 06:58 — danofncOkaloosa County's superintendent is elected, not hired by the board. And, they have taxing authority. Also, I'm pretty sure that Gaetz was on the school board for a number of years prior to being elected superintendent, so it isn't like he came in with zero educational experience at all. The district only has about 30,000 students, so there are more difference than there are similarities with WCPSS.
As far as Chicago is concerned, I'd rather read about student performance (wait..."individual student achievement"...had to use the right buzzwords) than budget success.
Okaloosa County's
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 07:31 — jeffrey1Okaloosa County's superintendent is elected, not hired by the board.
As far as Chicago is concerned, I'd rather read about student performance (wait..."individual student achievement"...had to use the right buzzwords) than budget success.
Huh?
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 07:54 — magnetParent"Good, so we have an entire community that supports hiring a non-educator as superintendent. Even better!"
Huh? Was there a vote I didn't know about? You don't speak for me, or for that matter, anybody but yourself.
Reread the post please. An
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 08:05 — jeffrey1Reread the post please. An entire community in Okaloosa County voted for a non-educator for superintendent.
I would not even think about speaking for you.
My bad. I guess the we
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 09:27 — magnetParentMy bad. I guess the we threw me off. I apologize. Thank you.
I wouldn't consider
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 07:47 — danofncI wouldn't consider Margiotta a non-educator, because he's been a member of two different school boards for quite some time. By that measure, Gaetz isn't a non-educator.
He wasn't hired/elected without any experience.
I will complain about whatever I choose. My biggest problem so far with the new board has been inconsistency. They only care about budget concerns when it suits their agenda. Moving a school? x million dollars is "a relative drop in the bucket". Dropping out of NCSBA? "WE SAVED 40 THOUSAND DOLLARS!"
I will complain about
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 08:20 — jeffrey1I will complain about whatever I choose.
Obviously, Gaetz does great work as a superintendent (who had absolutely zero experience in the classroom), and you dismiss his CEO experience and surmise that his success was due to his experience on the board, which qualified him to be an educator. By that same logic, then you must agree that Margiotta is qualified as an educator and therefore eligible to be WCPSS superintendent.
Vallas bring absolutely stunning fiscal management to Chicago, eliminating a 4 year shortfall of $1.3 billion in just two years, builds 76 new buildings, and renovates 500 others, and all you can say is, "Eh, I'd rather see the student achievement results."
At this point, the majority could walk on water, and all you would say is "Why didn't they fly?"
Wrong, wrong, wrong. If
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 08:34 — danofncWrong, wrong, wrong.
If Margiotta were to be chosen as superintendent, I wouldn't like it. But, with his school board experience I wouldn't say he was a non-educator.
I am not someone who thinks who have to have spent 30 years in a classroom to be superintendent. I just think the inner workings of a school system are a unique beast and you need to have had some experience with them prior to having such a job.
WCPSS has opened a lot of schools, and until the economy tanked didn't have any budget concerns. We still haven't had a deficit, have we? So does that mean that you think Del Burns was doing a great job? I seem to remember a lot of talk about achievement problems. I don't remember you pumping up his construction and balanced-budget successes.
Do you remember when I said I was only after consistency?
Chicago Public Schools did
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 08:57 — jeffrey1Chicago Public Schools did not run a deficit. They get there funding just like Wake. There was a projected shortfall, which Vallas eliminated, while continuing to build new schools, and without any adverse affects on student performance.
Del Burns did not balance the budget -- balanced budgets are required by law. With regards to Del Burns, what did his educational experience teach him about running a $2 billion dollar company.
Whenever anyone questioned Burns' salary, the response was that the man was running a $2 billion dollar company with 14,000 employees, and deserved to be compensated just like the CEO of a similarly sized company. WCPSS thinks of itself as a small company, yet you want to consider it unique. It is no more unique then running a technology company, a construction company, an insurance company, ...
They would not hire the likes of him
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 18:16 — duvalAfter you posted his name I did some research.
He did away with the NYC school board.
Our board wants someone they can, to quote Debra Goldman "reign in."
"He did away with the NYC
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 18:48 — zande"He did away with the NYC school board."
Joel Klein
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 11:20 — JonesSausagethat's true that he's the chancellor of NYC schools and has no significant education background/experience.
It's even more true that he's been an unmitigated disaster, though that's as much Bloomberg's fault as it is Klein's. Hiring someone the likes of Klein is exactly what most of us fear.
Pfft...
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 11:58 — Bob_SconceIf you're a union leader in New York City schools or somebody interested in protecting the hegemony of the education ivory tower, that's exactly right -- they've been complaining about "academic freedom" (which, IMO, is most important in college, nearly irrelevant in K-12). For others, it's not nearly as clear. Scores on some NAEPs are up, graduation rates are up by 11%. And, his focus on holding principals accountable for results makes a lot of sense.
Heck, Obama considered him for Sec'y of Ed (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/04/AR2008110404573.html), so he's clearly not an "unmitigated disaster."
nope.
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 14:57 — JonesSausageKlein knows how to fashion a sound byte, but the health of the schools in NYC overall is lagging...he's done what the charters want: create a few exceptional schools, cooked the stats, and hurt the schools as a whole in NY. Further, he's completely shut out teachers (not career bureaucrats, but teachers) in basic classroom decision making, curricula, and implementation...not wise management to alienate those who will actually implement your policies. I suggest you read Diane Ravitch's book "the Death and Life of the Great American School System", specifically her chapter on the changes in NYC.
The fact that the president considered nominating him for SecEd is one of my many beefs with Obama's education policies.
So...
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 16:23 — Bob_SconceRavitch's book is actually already on my radar -- she's been on a few podcasts that I listen to.
Klein certainly has his detractors, but so did Del Burns. The existence of detractors isn't sufficient to say "he shouldn't be in his job" or that he isn't qualified. In my view, if WCPSS' methods for selecting a superintendent are so restrictive that the chancellor of the largest district in the US couldn't even have been CONSIDERED, then they're too restrictive.
I would highly commend
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 16:37 — JonesSausageI would highly commend Ravitch to you...she's probably the foremost historian of American education out there, has done her homework, and is confident enough in herself to admit when she's been wrong in the past.
The book is short on specific solutions (minus the last chapter), and she does run a bit too close to the nostalgia/neighborhood schools thread (though her definition is shades different than the NJ cabal on our school board), her book is too excellent to nitpick for small issues I might have with it. Her criticism of NCLB/Bush education policies is only equalled by her criticism of the Obama/RTTT policies. Good, thoroughly written/researched, thoughtful stuff.
As for Klein, just because NYC made an error (read: Bloomberg's iron fisted takeover of schools) in its criteria in selecting and hiring a supt doesn't mean that we in wcpss should; we ought to learn from their mistakes.
If (big if, I don't know)
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 16:27 — danofncIf (big if, I don't know) Klein has done what JonesSausage claims, and he's implementing an agenda that favors a few select schools along with charters at the expense of the rest of the system, then I'd say that guidelines that keep people like him out are perfect.
Money
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 11:45 — HereWeGoHow much are we going to have to pay this business person?
Hopefully we will pay her or
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 18:09 — woodstockHopefully we will pay her or him equal to what a CEO of a billion dollar business would make. Because that is what it will take to get a top notch candidate ...and it will be worth every penny.
"Tedesco said that the
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 08:53 — PACK_MIKE77"Tedesco said that the savings from no longer paying Burns will pay for the search."
Why is that not the headline? I believe the new board saved $40,000 dollars in membership dues as well. Looks like this new board knows how to cut expenses in order to spend on other things. Therefore, keeping taxes and budget in check.
Of course expecting honest reporting from Mr. Hui is a bit much. Maybe he needs to attend more religious meetings at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church regarding the school board. Sing more hymns. Read from the Bible. I am sure Rev. Nancy Petty will remind Mr. Hui that going to jail is his duty. God and justice is on the side of Rev. Nancy Petty. She said so.
Cut out the media bias
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 09:26 — danofncCut out the media bias angle.
If Hui wanted to promote a certain viewpoint, he wouldn't have included any quotes from Tedesco at all.
The "savings" of the dues is a mistake. We shouldn't have dropped those memberships.
Acting like you "saved money" because someone resigned is crazy.
There were lots of cuts in this year's budget, so this "saved money" could be going to save the jobs of a few TA's, teachers, or any number of other important positions that have been cut.
Your relentless closed
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 09:36 — woodstockYour relentless closed mindedness does not really add much to the discussion. BTW, the NCSBA is nothing more than a left-wing lobbying group and relinquishing that membership is one of the best decisions this new board has made. Additionally, not only was money saved by getting rid of Burns, it hastened the effort to overcome the incompetence of the status quo.
You're not someone who
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 09:57 — danofncYou're not someone who should talk about being closed-minded.
If Hui wanted to be biased, he could have cut the post after the sentence about Heidrick not having much experience in doing searches for public school systems.
One of the best arguments against the old assignment policy has been "Why should Wake do it when 99% of other school districts don't think it's necessary?" People have also often pointed out that no other districts in NC use SES as a major factor in assignment. The implication in all of those statements is that we should be doing what everyone else is doing. You should know this very well, since you've been asked more than once how people who support doing something no one else is doing can be considered "status quo".
Anyway....dropping membership in organizations that every other district in NC belong to doesn't seem to fit with your prior arguments.
Of course, that shouldn't surprise anyone. The hypocrisy is rampant.
Busing is bad, until kids are being bused to a high school that we put where we want it.
Assignment and calendar should be parental choice, unless we're getting kids out of Garner to keep the mayor happy. Then, we can just move families and switch their calendar with no notice at all.
No other district buses for diversity, so we shouldn't either. Every other district is a member of NCSBA, but we should drop our membership.
Yep...it fits.
"Every other district is a
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 14:22 — woodstock"Every other district is a member of NCSBA ..."
...for now. Times, they are a changin'.
Woodstock..in your world
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 09:56 — exYank_WCprinare there ANY mainstream organizations that aren't "left-wing groups", other than let's say John Birch Society, John Locke Foundation, Heritage, Civitas, etc. (which are obviously not main stream). No doubt you also feel the need to "purge" or "cleanse" the Republican Party of its members who are centerists as well.
This will be "fun" ....
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 06:48 — AgentPierceThis public debate should be yet another Mad Hatter's Tea Party. How many of the rant&ragers have the slightest experience or relevant knowledge about hiring an executive at this level?
The "new board" is doing X .... then Y was the obvious way to go. Whatever their decision .... throw a rock at it.