Input on new PW-S superintendent pours in

The Port Washington-Saukville School District’s next superintendent should be an innovator who can find creative solutions to challenges but who won’t make significant changes, at least not initially, to a generally high-performing school system.

That was one of the messages from the 17 people, mostly parents of school-age children, who attended a focus group open to  the public and hosted Saturday by consultants from School Exec Connect, the firm hired by the district to find its next top administrator. 

The company is in the process of hosting 12 focus groups to solicit opinions from people who range from school district employees and parents to business leaders and representatives of civic organizations that will be used to create a profile that serves two purposes.

First, it is intended to give candidates an idea of how residents view the district, specifically its strengths and its weaknesses, and what the expectations are for a new superintendent. 

Second, the profile is meant to clarify the characteristics and talents that the consulting firm and School Board should look for in the next head administrator.

“We look at this like a jigsaw puzzle. You’re losing a piece of that puzzle that’s been here for 21 years,” School Exec Connect consultant Gerry Freitag said during Saturday’s forum, referring to Supt. Michael Weber, who will retire on June 30 after more than two decades at the helm of the district. 

“We have to find a new piece that fits.”

Joe Sheehan, the other School Exec Connect consultant working with the district, said just because someone is a highly qualified superintendent doesn’t mean he is the right person for the Port Washington-Saukville School District.

“There are some really great superintendents out there that just aren’t a good fit for you,” Sheehan, who along with Freitag are former superintendents of school districts in Wisconsin, said.

Consultants will also use the results of an online community survey that is open until April 9 to create the profile. The six-question survey, which consultants said takes an average of less than four minutes to complete, can be accessed on the district website, www.pwssd.k12.wi.us, or directly at www.surveymonkey.com/r/GQ3YYQV. 

Just more than 600 responses had been logged, Weber said during a School Board meeting Monday. The goal is to have between 800 and 1,000 responses.

People who do not have access to the internet can obtain paper surveys by contacting the district office at (262) 268-6000.

When asked at Saturday’s forum to articulate the district’s strengths, participants cited teachers and the variety of programs available to students, from Advanced Placement and technology education courses to a host of extracurricular activities.

“One of the district’s great strengths is its extracurricular programs at the high school,” one woman said. “We have a lot of ways for kids to get involved.”

Another woman said that among the district’s strengths is its comprehensive approach to education that in addition to preparing students for four-year colleges also readies them for technical schools and skilled jobs.

When asked about the district’s weaknesses, several participants said administrators and School Board members need to do a better job of communicating with parents and the public in general as well as finding ways to involve parents in the education of their children.

The next superintendent, participants said, should be charismatic, outgoing, tech savvy and proficient in the use of social media.

Consultants will look for common themes from the focus groups and survey results and use those to craft the superintendent profile, which is to be presented to the School Board on Monday, April 12.

Between now and May 2, the consultants will accept applications and recruit candidates, and on May 5 they will present a slate of five to seven candidates to the board in closed session.

The board will then conduct preliminary interviews in an effort to narrow the field to three finalists who will be interviewed between May 31 and June 4.

If the board finds the right candidate and successfully negotiates a contract, it is expected to approve that contract on June 14. The new superintendent would begin work on July 1.