Superintendent decision comes to stalemate

After two months of narrowing the field, Douglas County School Board members couldn't agree on either superintendent finalist Monday night.

A motion by Board Vice President Tom Moore to offer a contract to Dave Jensen, assistant superintendent of Humboldt County School District, failed on a 3-4 vote with Moore, Randy Green and Keith Roman supporting Jensen, and Karen Chessell, Cindy Trigg, Teri Jamin and Sharla Hales voting nay.

Minutes later, a motion by Trigg to offer a contract to Mary Bull, former superintendent of Vallejo City Unified School District, failed on a 5-2 vote with Trigg and Chessell supporting Bull, and Moore, Green, Roman, Jamin and Hales voting nay.

By the end of the night, board members had agreed to further interview two candidates previously eliminated from the running: Lisa Noonan, chief academic officer of Washoe County Schools, and Heather Henderson-Hill, deputy superintendent of Chinook's Edge School Division in Alberta, Canada. The motion passed on a 5-1 vote with Moore voting nay and Trigg abstaining.

To begin the meeting, each board member stated whom they supported and why.

Moore said he picked up three things from staff feedback: concerns about Bull's past in Vallejo, concerns about Jensen's lack of educational leadership, and a desire to further interview Noonan.

While Moore said he appreciated staff input, he said it can be skewed and emphasized that the superintendent is "our employee."

"I was looking for a leader, and Jensen's record was stronger than Mary Bull's," he said.

Hales said she couldn't support either candidate.

"I like Jensen immensely but don't believe he's the right person because of that instructional piece missing," she said.

Hales said she also likes Bull, but she's frustrated the candidate came with a cloud over her head.

"I feel the cloud was created by people less than honorable in what they did, but nonetheless there's a cloud, and she didn't do much to dispel the cloud. I'm afraid she doesn't have the community support," Hales said.

Attending the meeting via speakerphone, Trigg said she was looking at innovation, graduation rates and curriculum.

"I kept coming back to Mary Bull," she said. "We did have problems with our past superintendent, but we also had problems with our own board."

Trigg said Bull would be a fantastic curriculum director if the board were willing to work with her.

"The rough patches will be smoothed over," she said.

Citing state budgetary problems and morale problems in the district, Roman said Jensen fits the bill. He said Jensen possesses both the finance skills and people skills necessary and offers long-term stability.

"I cannot think of a better person," Roman said. "If something were the matter with this guy in the way he deals with people, it would have surfaced after 15 years in one place."

Green said his instincts led him to Jensen.

"At some point, we have to put the ball in someone's hand to pitch," he said. "No matter what we decide, the hard work will come after what happens tonight."

In response to concerns about Jensen's lack of site administration experience, Green said Jensen's willingness to be mentored by interim superintendent John Soderman was a huge plus.

Chessell, also attending via speakerphone, said the school district is facing a big leap in requirements for adequate yearly progress, as mandated by No Child Left Behind. She said Douglas needs a strong educational leader, and that Bull is the person for the job.

"I think she'll bring us new ideas," she said.

Like Hales, Jamin said she couldn't hire either at this point. She said Jensen represents the status quo and the safe choice, while Bull represents the more risky, innovative choice.

"I'm uncomfortable feeling that even though both have positive things to offer, both have concerns that could affect their ability to be our superintendent," Jamin said. "I'm concerned they would be starting with strikes against them."

Jamin said she had a knot in her stomach knowing the board was divided even before a hire.

On the other hand, Green said a split board doesn't necessarily mean the finalists are not viable. He said the board has publicly stated that all four semifinalists are viable picks.

"We can go on forever in a void looking for a person to connect in all the ways we want, but I don't know if we'll find that person," he said. "Someone needs four votes."

Moore said he was not in favor of bringing in the other two candidates "who didn't make the cut," and he voted against the final motion to interview Henderson-Hill and Noonan. He suggested re-advertising the position, but his motion to do so failed from a lack of a second.

Roman said he can't justify spending thousands of dollars on the superintendent search to end up starting all over.

"We got a lot of money invested in this thing, and I'm not willing to say let's divorce the process and get another one," he said. "I want to play this thing out and focus on the people we got."

Jamin said the original intent of naming the two finalists was to investigate them further, not necessarily to eliminate the other two.

"I have a funny feeling that with the other two, we'd be having the same discussion as we are now," Moore said.

"We don't have to have a 7-0 vote," Trigg said. "We'll all be committed to working with whoever we choose, especially in a situation where all four are qualified."

"I'm not in a rush," Hales said. "I understand the comments that we are not going to find someone with everything, but my own approach is that I don't want to vote yes until I am comfortable we won't end up regretting the decision."

While stating they're still open to the possibility of Bull or Jensen, board members voted to schedule roundtable interviews, similar to last week's, with Noonan and Henderson-Hill. Exact dates and times are still pending.

Consultant Jim Huge said there's a good chance Bull and Jensen will not come back to the table. At the same time, though, he said the process isn't over until the ink on the contract is signed.

"Imagine how this must be viewed by the candidates," Moore said. "The message this board is sending out is tremendous."