Two finalists for Ann Arbor superintendent job answer questions, meet community at forum
The two remaining finalists for the Ann Arbor Public Schools superintendent position met members of the community at a forum Friday, with both seeming to leave a positive impression on attendees.
Patricia Green, current superintendent of North Allegheny School District in Pennsylvania, and Michael Munoz, current chief academic officer of Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa, answered questions for about 45 minutes each. About 70 members of the community were in attendance.
Both candidates will be interviewed by school board members for a final time tomorrow before trustees make the decision on who will take over the AAPS superintendent job.
Following each candidate’s time answering questions, forum attendees filled out a feedback form that was to be given to members of the Ann Arbor Board of Education.
Zhaohui Xu and his son Acer, a Community High School student, said they thought both candidates made a good impression. Acer Xu said he came to the forum hoping to hear how the candidates involved students in district operations, something his father was also interested in.
“They both seem very capable; I think they will both be good choices,” Zhaohui Xu said. “I think the difference between them is very, very minor.”
The community forum was the last event in a day where both finalists visited six schools in the district and met with various members of the community.
Patricia Green
When asked about how she viewed leadership, Green said she approached each situation as if she were looking through a kaleidoscope. Each new perspective — or turn of the kaleidoscope — can make a certain situation look different, so it’s important to get all those perspectives, she said.
“We understand that it’s not static, it does not look the same every single way,” she said of decision-making. “Sometimes you have to make tough decisions, but you can’t make decisions in isolation. You need to have a team around you to make the kind of decisions that a school district of an excellent nature would need to make to be a role model to others.”
Green began serving as superintendent of North Allegheny School District in May 2002 after working as acting deputy superintendent for instruction for the Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland. Green has worked in education for most of her career, serving as a teacher, principal and in a number of administrative positions. NASD has an enrollment of about 8,000 students.
Green holds a bachelor's of science degree in elementary education, a master’s degree in human development education and a doctorate in philosophy in education policy, planning and administration from the University of Maryland.
Michael Munoz
When asked about working with a shrinking budget, Munoz said he has plenty of experience working in a district that had to deal with cuts in state funding. He said the Des Moines district had to cut $11 million from its budget in the previous fiscal year and, ultimately, the budget process comes down to prioritizing.
“You have to look at the strategic plan and the district’s goals,” he said. “Funding has to support what you have to accomplish. You have to really look at things you’re doing and try to determine if money invested is getting the results we want to get or is it something we enjoy and like to do, but we’re not getting the bang for our buck.”
Munoz serves as chief academic officer of Des Moines Public Schools and has worked in education for 32 years. Before taking his current job, he worked as regional executive director for the Northeast Region of the district. DMPS has an enrollment of about 32,000 students.
Munoz has a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Nebraska, a master’s degree in developmental counseling and an administrative degree from Drake University and a specialist degree from Iowa State University.
Julie Roth, an Ann Arbor Open School parent, said both candidates impressed her but in different ways.
She said Green’s enthusiasm and background at a district demographically similar to Ann Arbor and Munoz' experience in instruction and his solutions to problems such as the achievement gap were what stood out for her.
“My general reaction to the evening was very positive,” she said. “I would not be disappointed with either candidate.”
Shelley Redinger, a superintendent in Oregon, withdrew as a candidate for Ann Arbor superintendent after accepting a similar job in Virginia.
Ann Arbor school board members will meet at Balas Administration Building, 2555 State St., at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday for a final interview with the two candidates, and are expected to make a hiring decision.
Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com
Comments
dotdash
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 7:51 p.m.
The superintendent has a large organization to run; I hope the board doesn't just pick the achievement-gap-oriented candidate (whoever that is) or the bash-the-unions candidate (whoever that is). No doubt that the the achievement gap and teacher pay should be addressed, but those are just two of a large number of issues the new superintendent will have to face. I'd like to see the strongest leader hired: the one that can rally the whole district to excellence, manage teachers well, manage money well, bring parents onboard, and create stand-out programs.
MyOpinion
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 5:03 p.m.
@Don Bee, And, the cost of the search process ought to be considered part of the cost of the superintendent. Is the high salary just to encourage the person to stay for more than 3 years? If so, we ought to be head-hunting folks that got degrees from a Michigan-based university and have some ties to the state. Otherwise, there is no reason to push the salary so high. These candidates are not weak, but I don't see them as being on the national stage either. They belong in the $150,000 tier. Both will be moving on to bigger/more troubled districts where the salaries will be higher,now that the AAPS have ratcheted up the salary expectations for a suburban school district.
DonBee
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 9:56 p.m.
I can only find about a dozen school districts that pay that much in my searches, but the data is scattered about and very incomplete. Remember there is more to the pay than salary, there is a car allowance, benefits, and may be travel allowances included too. This will be a "With Perks" contract. There are a lot of fringe benefits in this job.
John B.
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 5:22 p.m.
Who pays their Superintendent more than a quarter-million Dollars per year? New York? LA? Does anyone have data on this?
DonBee
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 4:38 p.m.
I guess I am not impressed. Having just reviewed the tape of last night, both candidates are great politicians. For the money involved, I am very disappointed. We will pay almost as much as New York City for our new superintendent. I guess this is good, because finding higher paying positions will be hard. To the best of my ability to determine no school in Michigan pays more than AAPS will. I guess it is good to be number 1 in something? Both will face hard problems, a declining budget, a millage with some opposition, a missing head of the WISD, an aggressive AAAA and AAEA - both of which will not back down in the negotiations coming up for new contracts. Maybe we are not overpaying. I wish the board well, if it were mine to do, I would probably start over. But, they will make a decision. The achievement gap will remain until parents are INVITED into the education process, and I doubt the new superintendent will take that issue on.
KeepingItReal
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 4:13 p.m.
@ViSHa: I sincerely hope that you are wrong. There have been countless efforts to address the achievement gap over the years except the meaningful engagement of the African American community. Until and unless that community step up to the plate, we will be talking about an achievement gap for the next 30 years.
ViSHa
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 3:08 p.m.
my prediction is that whomever gave the board the answers they wanted to hear about the achievement gap/diversity will win the position. based on the initial questionnaires sent to parents, there was an obvious slant that that was their main (and sometimes only) focus.
Jen Eyer
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 2:43 p.m.
A reminder to stay on the topic of the superintendent search. This thread is veering off course into the realm of teacher hiring. If you'd like to start your own thread about hiring practices for teachers, you may post on the Community Wall: <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/community">www.annarbor.com/community</a>. Thank you.
MyOpinion
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 2:16 p.m.
For the comment about how Ann Arbor hires the best teachers, not the sons, daughters, etc. of current staff: <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-teacher-experiences-first-day-of-school-from-different-perspective/">http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-teacher-experiences-first-day-of-school-from-different-perspective/</a> Read the comments for a different take.
Lisa Starrfield
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 3:32 p.m.
Ann Arbor tends to hire from its student teachers or long term subs who've done an excellent job; these are teachers for whom we have seen first hand how they perform.
ViSHa
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 2:26 p.m.
ah, you beat me to it. the august before there was a story about the daughter of a principal starting her new job fresh out of college. and then there are the subs that don't get stories written about them.
BonoVox
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 1:51 p.m.
Parents have been on every interview panel for every teaching job I have interviewed for. From my experience, this is a common (and best) practice.
PaperTigerSophie
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 1:50 p.m.
McGiver: It was probably met with "resistance" in Saline, because the way it USUALLY goes, is it depends on whether the teacher candidate is related to someone already working in Saline. They really like to hire their daughters, sons, cousins, etc. The GOOD thing about teachers in Ann Arbor is that hiring is usually based on the most qualified applicant, rather than if they are related to someone already working for AAPS.
sh1
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 12:50 p.m.
McGiver, what would you ask teachers, and what answers would satisfy you?
bruno_uno
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 12:29 p.m.
I concur with the comment on need for a national search for this highly touted position. The school board has done an amazing job utilizing public dollars to thoroughly bring forth candidates through a nationwide search for this highly specialized position for skills that included a masters degree in education. These searches could not have been done with localized efforts with simple tools such as the internet and telephone. I encourage anyone to attend these highly publicized, capacity seated debates on deciding the next leader.
McGiver
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 12:24 p.m.
Wouldn't it be great if parents could interview teachers and at least have a choice who teaches their children? This concept was met with great resistance in Saline.
Lisa Starrfield
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 3:29 p.m.
Actually, when I was hired in 2005, there was a committee of parents, administrators and teachers from the district which interviewed all candidates. While you may not have a choice in who your child is assigned to, you can have a voice in hiring decisions.
havefun
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 5:09 a.m.
It's nice to hear that the time and money put into a national search has produced two quality candidates. It sounds like it will be a tough decision.