School board picks superintendent

Months of searching, weeks of interviews and hours of discussion culminated Monday night in a motion by the Douglas County School Board to hire Lisa Noonan as the next superintendent.

Trustees voted 6-1, with Board Vice President Tom Moore voting nay, to offer the highest job in the district to the chief academic officer of Washoe County Schools.

A three-year contract for Noonan, estimated to be just under $130,000 a year, plus benefits, is currently being drafted by district counsel and may be presented to the board tonight for approval.

On Tuesday, consultant Jim Huge said Noonan was excited by the offer and mulling it over with her family. Aware that she's considering positions elsewhere, board members still felt confident that Noonan is the right fit for the district. It doesn't hurt that the 49-year-old educator has already left a mark in Douglas County as the assistant principal of Jacks Valley Elementary School in the early 1990s.

"I feel Lisa has the benefit of having worked in the district. Some know her and can attest to her capabilities and strengths," said Board President Teri Jamin. "I believe our chance of success is greatest with Lisa at this point."

Moore, who supported Humboldt County Assistant Superintendent Dave Jensen, said he couldn't determine Noonan's management style.

"I didn't see any difference in Lisa and our former superintendent," he said. "I don't believe the district is getting the strong leader it needs."

However, despite differences in opinion, board members voted unanimously in a follow-up motion to state 100 percent, collective support of the new hire.

"I think it will be very instrumental in ensuring a successful superintendent," Jamin said.

"It's deja vu all over again," said trustee Keith Roman. "I said I would support the majority candidate, and it's obvious that Lisa is the majority candidate. I'm sure she'll do a fine job, and I'll get right behind her."

Board members said that mentoring would be available for Noonan, at least for the first year, and interim superintendent John Soderman indicated he'd be more than willing to help.

If ratified, Noonan's contract would begin July 1 and likely extend to 2013. Trustees agreed that the deadline for extension notification should be Dec. 15, 2012, six months before the contract expires. With former superintendent Carol Lark's contract, board members were obligated to make that decision a year in advance.

"I felt it was too faraway to make a decision," said board member Randy Green.

"It's incumbent on this board to let the community know that there are some things we've learned," added trustee Cindy Trigg. "We have to work smarter with the superintendent, and we will."

On Friday, before she knew she'd be offered the job, Noonan was the last of four superintendent candidates to face a three-hour roundtable interview with 20 board members, principals, teachers and other staff.

The board invited Noonan and Heather Henderson-Hill back for additional interviews after members couldn't agree on the initial finalists: Dave Jensen and Mary Bull.

Noonan told board members that "what we teach" is nonnegotiable.

"We're told what to teach. That's defined by state standards," she said. "We can go above those, but we can't pick and choose."

When it comes to instruction, Noonan said she believes in as much teacher control as possible. It's her job, she said, to provide teachers with the necessary resources to "increase the strategies in their toolbox."

Carson Valley Middle School teacher Nicolle Larson asked Noonan to what extent she supports using student achievement scores in teacher evaluations.

"I didn't ever feel that as a principal it needed to be in the rubric," Noonan said. "I felt sure that good teachers would be acknowledged, and that if some were failing, I didn't necessarily need that piece to do my job."

But Noonan said the country seems to be moving in the direction of using student achievement.

"If we're going to do it, then we need to do it well," she said. "Within the purview of the school district, we can design a new rubric for evaluations. If it's going to be 50 percent, then we'll make sure it's a well-rounded 50 percent. And whatever we implement for teachers should be reflective of how we evaluate administrators and central office staff."

Noonan said the new evaluations would need to be fluid, adaptable to what kind of class a teacher is assigned. She said she often assigns low performing students to her best teachers.

"We would have to build the evaluation carefully, so it doesn't create barriers that don't reflect a teacher's true contribution," she said.

When asked about her experience with budget cuts, Noonan said, "I've learned not to spend money early in the year, especially in Nevada."

"It's not going to be one thing that gets us out of the woods," she said. "It's going to be a give and take."

Noonan said her parents went to elementary school during the Great Depression.

"Someone made sure they had school," she said. "We need to make sure we still have public education."

School board members are meeting tonight at Douglas High School to discuss Noonan's contract, Sierra Crest Academy's charter, the final budget, and adoption of the SpringBoard English curriculum, among other things.