Citizens Share Desired Characteristics for WJCC Superintendent

By Amber Lester Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Ideally, the next superintendent of Williamsburg-James City County Schools will be a natural leader, an experienced educator, an out-of-the-box thinker, a great communicator and a respected community member who can get along with everybody.

That’s what a small group of concerned citizens told the WJCC School Board at a public forum Tuesday in the auditorium of Lafayette High School. The board invited the public to share the desired characteristics of its next superintendent, but only about 20 people attended the event, most of them members of a group called Citizens for Education that plans to host its own forum at 2 p.m. on Sept. 25 at Lafayette.

The board is looking for a new superintendent to replace Gary Mathews, who accepted a job as superintendent of Newton County, Ga. schools during the second semester of last school year. Former Assistant Superintendent of Finance Scott Burckbuchler is currently acting as superintendent and has said he plans to apply for the job (read more here).

Several speakers at Tuesday’s forum emphasized their wish to have a superintendent who believes in educating all children, no matter their background or means. Education advocate and Citizens For Education member Jennifer Taylor urged the board to find someone who “not only plays well with others, but really, really cares about bridging the gap.”

Anthony Conyers, former Virginia commissioner of social services and a longtime James City County resident, said the county’s children deserve a superintendent committed to the development of every child. He said the next superintendent needs to hold every employee accountable for educating all children and needs to have the courage to lead parents, teachers and staff. “All of us … hire a superintendent for all of us,” he said, receiving applause from the audience.

Lisa Ownby, a mother of four WJCC students and member of the Parent-Teacher Association Council, said she hopes the next superintendent will measure success differently from predecessors. “Numbers aren’t always the meat of things,” she said. “I hope we can look beyond SOLs and AYP [Adequate Yearly Progress] and focus on educating all children.”

Some speakers emphasized the right credentials. Penny Pulley said it is important the board consider only applicants who are already licensed to be superintendents (rather than recommend someone for licensure after the interview process). Vivian Bland, a retired teacher, said the next superintendent must have had teaching experience. “There is nothing that can replace having been in the classroom,” she said. Bland also wants the next superintendent to have a knowledge and respect of research in education, have strong human relations skills and be excited about the process of education.

Steve Vignolo said it will be easy to find candidates with the right credentials. “The hard part is finding a candidate who can deal with all that’s going right, but more importantly have the ability to recognize things that aren’t going well and have the ability to look down the road.”

The division has outlined its schedule for the hiring process, which they must complete by December, according to state regulations. The job vacancy notice will be drafted Sept. 20 and applications will be accepted until Oct. 16. With the consultation of the Virginia School Board Association, the board will draft the ad using the characteristics mentioned in the forum and in surveys, available online and at each of the schools. The survey will be accepted until Friday. WJCC Communications Specialist Greg Davy said that as of Tuesday night, 350 surveys had been submitted.