By Krystle S. Morey
The Granville Board of Education has started its search for a new superintendent as the district’s current leader prepares to retire.
Superintendent Mark Bessen announced recently that he would retire on Jan. 31. Soin the coming weeks the board will form search committees, determine a salary range and establish a list of qualities it wants in a candidate – among other things.
The board held a workshop last Thursday to discuss the process and procedures to identify and select Bessen’s successor. At the workshop, the board discussed its preferences for residency, experience and more. Bessen and board member John McDermott did not attend.
The board is looking for a candidate who is an effective communicator with good writing and oral skills.
Board member Ed Vladyka stressed the importance of hiring a leader who is a bridge-builder and someone “people want to follow, not who people have to follow.”
“One of the biggest challenges I see that we have around here … is that we have a whole series of islands. Those islands will function fairly well at times, but they are never interconnected. We need somebody who can bring all of those islands together and get them to function as one entity,” Vladyka said.
He said he recognized that finding that person would be difficult, but when interviewing candidates and that person comes along, “you’ll know,” he said. “That personality is going to pop in an interview.”
“You can’t advertise for it. You can’t learn it. You have to have it,” he added.
Board President Audrey Hicks agreed, describing the ideal candidate as a “Pied Piper.”
Applicants with previous administrative experience, as either a superintendent, assistant superintendent or principal, would be more attractive, the board said, but it would not turn others away.
Mary J. Tanner School principal Keith LaLone, who attended the workshop, said that with changes within education standards, it’s important for a candidate to have an instructional background.
The board had the same thoughts regarding hiring a leader who is looking to stay in the district for a while or who is using the district as a stepping stone in his or her career.
“I personally would rather have somebody who comes in and is a rock star for three or four years and takes us to great places, than somebody who is like, ‘this is going to be my final resting place,’” said board vice president Suzanne McEachron.
She added: Let’s try and pick the person that we think will have the most positive impact and not really worry whether they are going to stay or not. So what if they are using us as a stepping stone … if they do some awesome things while they are here.”
“Sometimes those who are using us as a stepping stone are more motivated to ‘do,’” Hicks agreed.
Jim Dexter, district superintendent of WSWHE BOCES, will assist the board during the hiring process, helping determine a competitive salary and benefits that will be competitive in the local market. The board will meet formally with Dexter on Oct. 5.
The idea of hiring an interim superintendent was attractive to most board members.
“I don’t want to rush into it and risk a mistake,” board member Greg Bourn said. Board member Jo-Lynne Bartholomew echoed that idea, saying, “we shouldn’t be rushing into this … an interim is the way to go.”
Board member Carrie O’Brien agreed, saying, “we are not going to settle.”
Board member Molly Celani was more hesitant. She was concerned with an interim putting the district’s progress on hold, citing a “lack of continuity.”
“If you are going to go through the entire process and do not find anybody, then go with an interim,” Celani said.
Principal Camille Harrelson, who attended the workshop, was concerned with the multiple transition periods that come with hiring an interim superintendent.
“Right now we are on a really good move,” said Harrelson, who has served as the principal at the Granville High School for five years.
According to Hicks, Dexter strongly recommended the district take its time to find the right candidate, and hire an interim leader. The board was unanimous in wanting the new superintendent to move to the district.
Celani is the only board member who has gone through the process of hiring a superintendent before. She was on the board that hired Bessen in 2009, when she played a part in forming search committees, vetting candidates and painting a picture of “the perfect candidate.”
Granville’s superintendent search comes at the same time as similar searches in two other area districts – Argyle and Lake George.