As Vermont searches for new leadership at its education agency, some critics charge the search is hasty and half-hearted — some Vermont school districts recently This is in stark contrast to the large amount of time and money invested in finding local leaders).
After Education Secretary Dan French resigned in April to take a job with a national education nonprofit, Gov. Phil Scott waited nearly four months before asking the State Board of Education to begin a search for his replacement.
The board’s recruitment campaign this fall has been largely limited to job postings on national education and job sites. Initially, the application period was set to be just three weeks, but the board recently extended the application deadline by one week to October 12th. His one little-publicized online forum about the search drew only a few participants.
“I’m concerned that this will be a rushed process,” said Jay Nichols, executive director of the Vermont Principals Association. “I hope we get a national candidate.”
State Rep. Laura Sibilia (I-Dover), who served on the local school board for 20 years and is an advocate for rural schools, also expressed concerns.
“This is one of the most critical and expensive systems that the state government is responsible for managing,” Sibilia wrote in an email, adding that the search process “is not commensurate with the seriousness of the current problem. It undermines public confidence in this process,” he added. ”
Among the issues Nichols and other education leaders cited are a post-pandemic teacher shortage, severe mental health issues in schools, declining student enrollment and legal challenges to public education.
In response to a recent survey, Vermont school administrators called for strong leadership to lead the Education Agency. School officials painted a bleak picture of the school lacking expertise and in need of an overhaul.
“From a practical point of view, the Department of Education is bankrupt,” one respondent wrote. “There are some totally incompetent people in the agency. The next secretary may have to clean house and build a new one.”
Vermont’s top education official oversees a $2.56 billion education system with 80,000 students. This person is responsible for ensuring that public and independent schools comply with state and federal laws and policies and that all Vermont students have equitable access to a quality education. The director will earn about $168,000 a year and oversee about 170 employees.
Despite his heavy responsibility, Mr Scott showed no urgency to launch a search in April, when Mr French departed.
State law requires the governor to write a letter to the State Board of Education asking the commissioner to begin a search for the secretary. However, Scott wrote the letter on July 26th. Jason Maulucci, a spokesman for the governor, said the delay was due to a busy Legislature and the state’s full efforts to respond to severe flooding in early July.
When the letter did arrive, it included the governor’s proposal for eight weeks for the board to conduct the search. Rebecca Kelley, director of communications at Scott University, said last week that the governor told the school board he wanted to have a secretary in place by January, and that for now “the agency will continue to operate under Deputy Secretary of Education Heather Boucher.” He added that he believed it was in good condition. He has been serving as interim chief since April.
It was early September when the state commission met, appointed an investigative committee and agreed on its mandate.
Board Chair Jennifer Samuelson said the committee promoted the position on the education job board SchoolSpring in consultation with the state Human Resources Department.national news organization education week; SuccessFactors, the state’s online job site; Through a press release from the Department of Education issued on September 25th.
Through the state’s job site, the job was automatically shared on Facebook, LinkedIn and DiversityJobs, and was also hired on aggregation sites such as Indeed, Glassdoor and CareerBuilder, she said. Board members also agreed to forward her job postings to her contacts in the field, she noted.
Education Department spokeswoman Lindsey Hedges said the state spent $495 advertising the position. That amount and the timetable for finding a new superintendent pales in comparison to the amount of money and time some school boards spend to find a new superintendent.
For example, in 2020, the Burlington School District hired McPherson & Jacobson, a national recruiting firm in Omaha, Nebraska, to identify, hire, and vet candidates. Tom Flanagan has been identified. The search took about three and a half months and cost about $22,000. Addison Central School District in Middlebury is using the same firm to find its next superintendent.
The Winooski School District Board of Education hired California-based human capital firm Human Capital Enterprises last school year to find its next leader at a cost of about $23,000. The company spent four months conducting the study, holding 15 community engagement meetings with staff, community members, parents and students to assess what they wanted from leaders, and conducting several interviews. Community meet-ups and campus walk-throughs were also held. for the finalists. The final choice was Wilmer Chavarria, a Nicaraguan native who had worked as a principal in New Mexico and then as an administrator in Vermont.
Hank Harris, founder and president of Human Capital Enterprises, said in an interview last week that there are no advertisements for high-level education jobs in national newspapers such as: education week This will be the most effective approach. He said he spreads the word about his job openings through a network of contacts and an email list that reaches 40,000 people. Harris’ company specializes in finding superintendent jobs, but he said states typically hire outside consultants when searching for top education positions.
The Vermont School Boards Association conducts three to five superintendent searches a year for school boards and charges $9,500 for each, said Sue Cheglowski, executive director of the association. he said.
In contrast, state commissions are taking a do-it-yourself approach.
At the Sept. 20 meeting, board member Kimberly Gleason asked Samuelson whether the investigative committee had considered using an outside investigative firm “given the level of the position.” Mr. Samuelson said the committee discussed the idea with Department of Human Resources staff and was of the view that it was not necessary. Mr Samuelson also said there was “no budget” to support employment in state-owned enterprises.
One of the school board’s low-cost strategies was to hold an hour-long public forum where Vermonters could share their thoughts on what they expect from the next education secretary. The meeting was announced on the state board’s website and in a Department of Education press release just a week before it was scheduled to take place.
Only about 15 Vermonters attended the Oct. 2 forum, and there was a period of silence as Chairman Samuelson waited for people to comment. Eleven people spoke, five of whom shared a similar message about the importance of a secretary of education with a strong understanding of science-based reading instruction.
Rep. Elizabeth Burrows (D-West Windsor), who is also the board chair of the Mount Ascutney School District, was one of two lawmakers to speak. She told Samuelson the state needs an education secretary who can “right the ship.”
In an interview with seven days Last week, Burrows elaborated.
He said the fact that it took this long to begin the search shows that “the state’s education system is a very low priority for the governor.”
Burrows said Education Department officials often tell lawmakers they don’t have enough resources to answer questions or can’t do more to support the state’s efforts. (According to Mr. Hedges, the spokesperson, 14 of the agency’s 170 positions are vacant.)
“Nearly every department in the Department of Education is falling short of its mandate,” Burrows said.
Similar sentiments were expressed by some of the 100 local school administrators who responded to a survey sent out late last month jointly by the Vermont Association of Principals, the Vermont Association of School Superintendents and the Vermont School Boards Association. Each organization shared comments with personal information removed with the state commission. About 30 of the comments directly criticized the agency’s work.
“Based on my past experience as a superintendent and curriculum director, this agency has provided little support for my school district’s activities and has never served as a place for me to seek assistance,” one person wrote. is writing.
“The authorities have lost trust on the ground over the past seven years,” another wrote. “My work as an architectural leader will be supported by institutions that encourage educators and administrators, keep their promises, and engage them in working as a team.”
Dozens of administrators said the agency needs a leader with K-12 education experience, a clear vision, an advocate for public education and an effective communicator.
Nichols, executive director of the Vermont Principals Association and co-author of the study, summarized the feedback last week. “Right now we need someone who will be a pragmatic leader and a really strong manager to make sure AOE does what it needs to do,” he said.
Scott, who will choose the next secretary from a list of three candidates provided by the state board, has his own vision of what a new education secretary should be.
In a letter to the committee launching the investigation, he wrote that while complex issues need not be “education-specific,” he urged commissioners to prioritize applicants with experience in dealing with complex issues. asked. He also outlined the agency’s goals, including improving test scores, reducing educational disparities in communities where population decline is most pronounced, and increasing opportunities for older students to participate in career and technical education.
Samuelson said the board has received “many” applications, but declined to say how many. Her application deadline was extended, she said, because the board “didn’t want to miss the opportunity to consider applicants who may be on the edge of their deadline.”
He said the board hopes to send a list of three finalists to Scott by mid-November.