The consensus among Starkville School District stakeholders — at least those who’ve followed the superintendent search — is that the board of trustees is making all the right moves.
They say the board’s openness and inclusion of community members is a welcome change given its handling of former superintendent Judy Couey’s sudden resignation in 2011 and the manner in which she was hired in 2008.
The board Friday narrowed its list of semifinalists to three — two current superintendents and one assistant — who will interview with the public Monday at Starkville High School.
The search was conducted by the Mississippi School Boards Association, which is also conducting a search for the Columbus Municipal School District, at a cost of $9,500 plus expenses. Columbus city schools have been without a permanent superintendent since former superintendent Dr. Del Phillips’ resignation last April to take a position as director of schools for the Sumner County School District in Gallatin, Tenn. The district hired MSBA in July to handle their search and just closed advertisements for the position.
Starkville’s entire process, sans the executive session interviews, has welcomed public input. From stakeholder meetings prior to advertising for the position, to the chance to submit questions to candidates at the public forum, parents are pleased to be involved. In 2008, when Dr. Phil Burchfield resigned as superintendent, the process was quick and exclusive, said Kathleen Olivieri.
“Burchfield resigned one meeting, and the next meeting they announced the next superintendent,” she said. “There was no input whatsoever. The board makes those decisions, and they’re the ones who told us the process led them to the best candidate. We just had to trust them, and apparently we couldn’t. Three years later, they were looking for a new superintendent.
“I think maybe they realized they didn’t handle it the right way,” Olivieri added. “That’s why we appreciate being included this time around.”
Lewis Holloway, superintendent of Bulloch County, Ga.,; Michael McInnis, superintendent of Union School District; and Michael Van Winkle, assistant superintendent of Jackson County School District, are the finalists who’ll interview Monday at 5:30 p.m.
Each candidate will present a 15-minute PowerPoint show noting their achievements and goals. Those in attendance will also have the opportunity to complete an evaluation form on each candidate Monday night following the presentations. A reception will follow in the Starkville High library.
“That portion will be a first for me,” Van Winkle said. “When I was a finalist for the Biloxi job, there wasn’t a public interview. It’ll be exciting.”
Community members who’ve researched each of the candidates are pleased with the final three. Those who haven’t kept up as much share the same opinion but mainly because of the process. The board has worked with MSBA to find candidates, conduct initial interviews, handle background investigations and coordinate visits.
“I haven’t kept up as much as a lot of other people, but I’m pleased with where they are and think either of the candidates would be a great fit,” said SSD parent Rosiland Ashford.
Neither Olivieri nor Ashford have a preferred candidate. Both agree that to many community members, the exclusion of Starkville’s Dr. Walter Gonsoulin, in his fifth year as assistant superintendent, is surprising. Gonsoulin has taught at the university level and was a finalist for jobs in Lafayette, La., and Bessemer, Ala.
“I am a little surprised,” said Amy Burchfield, who has two children who attend Starkville schools. “I know that pretty much everyone I’ve been talking to about this felt like he’d be a finalist at least. I don’t know what went into that decision. I don’t have anything against Gonsoulin, but personally, I’m kind of the mindset we need someone without ties to the district. There’s been so many different feelings associated with past administration.”
Among the list of changes parents would like to see the next superintendent implement is building better relationships in the community. Burchfield said parents feel like their opinions and ideas are devalued, despite many of them being professors at Mississippi State University.
The dress code policy flap in 2010 was the tip of the iceberg but was one of many incidents where parents felt disconnected from the administration, Ashford said. The school board passed a uniform policy despite outcry from parents.
“A lot of parents still feel that way,” Ashford said, “that the administration doesn’t have their best interests at heart.”
While Olivieri, Ashford and Burchfield are open about their criticisms of the previous administrators, many parents aren’t. One parent, who asked that she not be identified, declined comment on the disconnect between parents and the top level of administration because she feared her two children may be affected negatively.
“I think those of us who were really vocal about uniforms, I think it reflected on the kids,” she said. “We also felt like the administration didn’t care what we thought and didn’t care about our kids. It was pretty rough.
“The school system has good teachers, but the administration was bad,” she added. “I think it was a common feeling.”
Ashford said her feelings about the state of the district are more personal because she’s a Starkville High graduate and now has children who attend Starkville schools. Ashford said the district’s decline started before Couey took over in 2008. She believes consistent disciplinary policies need to be set and administrators need to communicate better with the public.
Ashford also said teachers aren’t being used to their strengths.
“We need to stop teaching to state test,” she said. “Allow teachers to do what they’re taught to do. And do it in a way they’re encouraged, first and foremost. It doesn’t seem like students are enjoying it. The teachers that got me were the ones that kept me interested. Whatever ways the teachers need to do that, give them free reign to do that.
“When I was in high school, our district was one of the best in the state. We can’t make that claim anymore.”
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