Konocti Unified School District Board considers traits for new superintendent
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Konocti Unified School Board trustees gathered on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the traits they are seeking in the district’s new superintendent as the recruitment process gets under way.
Superintendent Donna Becnel is retiring in June, at the end of the school year, after a 35-year education career, so the board is embarking on the search for her successor.
On Wednesday afternoon, ahead of its regular meeting, the five-member board met with the consulting firm it has hired to discuss the traits they want in their next superintendent as well as to go over the interview process.
Becnel was at the district office, preparing for the regular meeting that night, but didn’t take part in the workshop, telling board members that the recruitment is up to them and she is there to support them.
Last month the board hired Education Leadership Solutions to help them with the search. The firm’s two principals are retired Lake County Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook and Dr. C. Richard Smith, also a former school administrator who lives in Kelseyville.
Holbrook wanted to go over the nuts and bolts of the process and update the recruitment calendar. The calendar includes numerous meetings with district staff and community members to gather input on the search, as well as tentative deadlines for advertising the job announcement – expected to close at the end of March – and early April interviews.
The process of selecting a superintendent is one of the most important tasks a school board can take on.
In Konocti Unified’s case, it’s the largest district in the county, with a $40 million budget and one of the county’s largest workforces.
The superintendent has a variety of key responsibilities. As an example, in her seven years with the district Becnel has guided it through major bonds issues, renovations and building projects, the opening of new schools and an ongoing response to wildland fires, while overseeing school performance and adherence to complex educational standards.
Based on board member input on Wednesday, they are looking for a person who is prepared to lead, face unique challenges and recognize opportunities, and do it with compassion and a view toward what’s best for the community.
In finding that person, Konocti Unified’s board is approaching it with attention to detail and a desire to hear from all community groups and individuals.
The recruitment process includes numerous meetings with district staff and community members. After Wednesday’s workshop, Holbrook and Smith headed next to a community meeting at Burns Valley School to get more public input.
“We've gotten really good input – constructive, positive, interactive,” said Holbrook. He added, “There's a lot of committed people here.”
Smith said that, so far, they’ve heard no negative comments in the meetings they’ve held.
The district is seeking to assemble a 17-member community panel that will be one interview team, while the board will be the second interview team. Both teams will take turns interviewing candidates on April 6, with final candidates to be interviewed by the board alone on April 7.
Holbrook said that, as the district seeks to assemble the community panel, there have been concerns about people being available for that April interview weekend, as it’s close to spring break.
However, the board decided to hold firm on scheduling their interviews that first weekend, with a view to being able to complete the recruitment process by mid-April. Board member Bill Diener said that if they got pushed off schedule, they could find themselves too close to graduation.
Over the next several weeks, the process will begin to move quickly. The application packet will be available on March 1, the job announcement will begin on the Association of California School Administrators’ EdCal job board on March 4 and the application period will close on March 22.
Holbrook and Smith went over the interview process with the board, explaining that candidates will be asked about 20 questions, some of which already have been written. They also talked about how the teams would rank candidates.
They then had the board list for them their preferences and priorities for the next superintendent.
“We're looking at two types of evidence about the qualities of this candidate,” said Smith.
He said the preferences and priorities “will form the basis for the questions that you’re going to ask the candidates.”
Smith said they had created two categories: skills, which are learned in school or through experience, such as budgeting, technology and supervising, and dispositions, which include feelings, beliefs and character. “Disposition is what’s in the person’s head,” he said.
On the walls of the district office meeting room Holbrook and Smith had hung large pieces of paper with different headings. The sheets included skills such as learning, human resources, finance, climate - safety, communication, facilities, dispositions and “parking lot” – that final category being a catch-all.
They gave the board members yellow sticky notes and asked them to write their priorities and place them under the various headings.
Across the categories, the board listed a broad-ranging set of capabilities that they’re seeking: a good listener; a philosophy that all students can learn; experience with dealing compassionately with poverty – mentally and physically – along with low self-esteem and family issues; knowledge about the local control funding formula; how to work with a board; being firm but fair; honesty; openness to change; organization; patience; ability to work on a team; ability to work with unions; knowledge of dealing with personnel; understanding of the state budget; knowledge of common core and curriculum; someone who will honestly answer why they want to come to Lake County; the ability to handle discipline; solutions for stopping bullying; and kindness.
“I’m confident we’re on the right road. I feel good about the process,” Board President Sue Burton said as she and her fellow board members worked on outlining the traits.
Afterward, looking at the sheets of paper that were filled up with the yellow sticky notes, Holbrook said of the process, “This has been really fun to watch.”
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