Groups want say in hire of new education commissioner

With all the potential changes going on in Missouri public education, Southeast Missouri superintendents -- and other such organizations around the state -- want their voices heard in the search for a new state education commissioner.

At its September meeting, the State Board of Education was told by Commissioner Chris Nicastro that she was resigning, effective Dec. 31.

In recent weeks, groups such as the Southeast Missouri Superintendents' Association of the Missouri Association of School Administrators and Missouri Association of Rural Education have written letters to the state board urging the panel to take an inclusive approach to the selection process.

A recent letter from the superintendents' group says schools "stand at a critical crossroads in Missouri education and our students hang in the balance.

"The State Board of Education has a unique opportunity to draw together teachers, administrators, parents, local boards of education, legislators, the governor, DESE [the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education], the State Board of Education, professional organizations, business leaders and most importantly, students," the superintendents' association wrote.

State Board of Education president Peter Herschend of Branson, Missouri, said Thursday that the eight-member board is constitutionally tasked with selecting and hiring the commissioner of education.

"That is not a job that is delegated to anybody. ... It is our single responsibility," Herschend said in a phone interview. "There is no more important job that a board has than the selection, the hiring and the nurturing of the chief executive officer, whatever the business is. ... We treat that responsibility very, very seriously."

He said two possible avenues might be pursued -- conducting a public search, which is usually run by a search firm, and a closed search, which means working with known names of people who are available and qualified for the job.

Herschend said a closed search was chosen.

"And you give them careful consideration and you interview those that you wish, and from that field, you make your constitutionally directed decision," Herschend said.

The state board will meet Oct. 27 and 28.

Sarah Potter, communications coordinator for DESE, said no date has been set for identifying a new commissioner.

"They will discuss it until they make a decision," Potter said in an email.

State Rep. Holly Rehder, who represents Scott and Mississippi counties, was contacted by superintendents to ask for her opinion on the process. She agrees that an open process is needed because there is a lot of mistrust between the public and DESE.

In a story on her resignation, The Associated Press reported that Nicastro came under criticism as the state adopted new school accreditation standards and dealt with struggling districts.

An audit released last month faulted the department's process for hiring a consultant for a potential overhaul of the Kansas City School District. Some state lawmakers also have been upset with the way the department has handled a student-transfer law for unaccredited districts in the St. Louis area. Other lawmakers have been opposed to the agency's implementation of the Common Core educational standards.

Rehder said hiring Nicastro's replacement would be a "wonderful" opportunity to start repairing some of that mistrust.

"Personally, I'm hopeful we'll find someone outside of the current department," Rehder said. She said it's disappointing that the state board has chosen a closed process.

Herschend said the board has received applications, but he declined to say how many candidates have expressed interest. He did say the board is looking at prospects mostly from Missouri, including some internal candidates from DESE.

"Hopefully, we would be able to have the process complete at that [late October] meeting. The issue of urgency is that we do not believe that any organization the size of the department of education and with the responsibilities of the department should run on a second in command for any length of time. We believe the captain of the ship needs to be the captain of the ship until he or she is proven not to be a good captain," Herschend said.

He said he has a number of letters from superintendents and administrators offering input on qualities they would like to see in the next commissioner.

Educators would like someone who is a consensus builder; someone with leadership experience; someone with practical experience as a teacher, building administrator or superintendent; someone who can develop a collective vision through collaboration; someone with a genuine track record of two-way communication with a group of diverse stakeholders; and someone able to build trust.

Herschend said he agrees with the points raised by school administrators and he has asked them for names of candidates who are qualified and available.

"You can just bet your next paycheck on the fact that whatever decision we make will generate all manner of disagreements with the decision," Herschend said.

He said Nicastro did what she was hired to do, which was to be an agent of change. When Nicastro started five and a half years ago, the state was mediocre in almost every category.

"That simply was not satisfactory," Herschend said, adding the board wanted better results. " ... Did she do it perfectly? No, but I wouldn't have and nobody else would either."

DESE has 1,850 employees, about 700 of whom work in Jefferson City. The remainder work in other parts of the state.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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