Monday, August 26, 2002
LAKELAND -- When SchoolMatch studied Polk County schools last year, the consultants from the national education research company were emphatic that the elected superintendent system was hurting the local schools. Groups Take Positions on Issue Election limits the pool of qualified candidates and creates tension, the audit said. Now for a seventh time, local voters will have a chance to voice their opinion on keeping the elected system or changing it when the question appears on the Sept. 10 ballot. Experts point to the following issues to consider:
To many education observers, the question of appointed vs. elected is a moot point -- less than 1 percent of school districts nationwide have elected leaders, and national organizations do not even study the differences between the two. But educators with knowledge of both systems tend to say an appointed superintendent is the better choice, said Stanley Marshall, founding chairman of the James Madison Institute in Tallahassee. "Most people from the profession who've thought about it agree with that," Marshall said. "I know there's no perfect system, but I've watched the process for many years . . . The morning after the election, the new superintendent will start his campaign for the next election. Why wouldn't he?" But Tom Weightman, chief executive of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, said the quality of the superintendent depends on the individual rather than how he or she got to the top spot. "We've seen superintendents who are excellent in the elected system and in the appointed. They've come from the ranks of both," he said. To a degree, William Bainbridge, president of SchoolMatch, agrees that the process is not as important as the result. "I wouldn't be so concerned about the elected superintendent system if (Florida election laws) required the same qualifications that would be involved in a (appointed) superintendent search," Bainbridge said. WHO'S QUALIFIED? Among the qualifications Bainbridge looks for in a superintendent is someone with administrative experience in education and in managing large budgets. From what he has seen, elected superintendents are "not as knowledgeable about school operations as 99 percent of the other school superintendents," Bainbridge said. The main criticism of the elected system is that it discourages a national search for a qualified school leader, said Marshall, former president of Florida State University and dean of the FSU School of Education, and Richard Boyd, a former state superintendent of schools in Mississippi, which has elected school superintendents. "We have some really, really good elected superintendents," said Boyd, who is now with the Barksdale Reading Institute at the University of Mississippi. "But I'd have to say that by and large the more competent group (is) the appointed superintendents." "I think there's a basic reason for that," he said. "Places that appoint . . . can look the whole country over. The farthest you're ever going to go (in a Mississippi district) is 12 miles down the road. I can't think of any organization that would like to be held to those limits." Mississippi and Alabama, the states other than Florida that allow elected superintendents, have some requirements for candidates who seek to lead schools. South Carolina has one elected superintendent whose authority has been mostly stripped and Georgia and Tennessee had several elected superintendents in 1992, but none today. In Florida, a candidate must be a resident of the county and be at least 18 years old. Steve Permuth, professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of South Florida, said a lack of requirements hurts recruitment of quality administrators in Florida. "We have few restrictions on who the superintendent can and cannot be," Permuth said. "Some of us would suggest that superintendents at least have experience as teachers and administrators," Permuth said. "We're not seen (outside Florida) as a leadership attractor for superintendents. For that to happen, there would need to be an investment of money in education." But both systems can yield a person with the qualities that make a good superintendent, said Weightman, with the superintendents association. "You want somebody who can be calm in stressful situations in . . . dealing with employees, unions, students, parents and taxpayers," Weightman said. "You need someone who can communicate well with the school board. In those districts that work well, the superintendent and the school board communicate." Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, said, "The main thing is to get a good, dedicated individual and the rest will take care of itself." His organization, like the superintendents' group, does not take a position on which system is better. ACADEMIC RESEARCH At least one local teacher has compared achievement levels in Florida school districts that are under appointed and elected superintendents, and points to elected as better. Vicki Sizemore, who teaches exceptional prekindergarten students at Combee Elementary in Lakeland, compared school grades under both types of leaders. She told School Board members recently that of the 23 Florida counties with appointed superintendents, 11 had failing schools -- a little less than half. Of 44 school districts with elected superintendents, eight had failing schools -- less than one-fifth. Polk did not have any failing schools. "One could easily conclude from this data that an appointed superintendent does not necessarily have a positive impact on student achievement," Sizemore said. But no conclusive academic evidence exists comparing achievement results of the two systems, several experts said. Boyd, the former state superintendent, said academics have not had much of an interest in researching the differences. Also, the number of elected superintendents is so small that the data are not sufficient for significant study. As of September 2000, 154 school districts out of 15,800 in the nation had elected superintendents, according to the Southern Regional Education Board, which tracks but does not analyze the numbers. Polk is the largest school district to elect its superintendent. Permuth, the USF professor, said he's aware of one study being done on student achievement levels under each system, but generally the superintendent is not the ultimate catalyst for improving test results. "The administrator who is really responsible is the principal," he said. POLITICAL FALLOUT The SchoolMatch report was particularly harsh on the politics in an elected superintendent system. "Forcing school administrators to openly align themselves with political parties or opposing political groups is counterproductive," the report said. "When elected superintendents decide to run for re-election, they place themselves in a weakened position since they cannot afford to offend potential voters." And elected officials may also feel obligated to reward those who supported them in their campaigns, SchoolMatch said. The process means an elected superintendent is "going to spend a fair amount of time campaigning, which is time not spent on improving education for boys and girls," Boyd said. When he was state superintendent, Boyd pushed for a statewide change in Mississippi to appointed systems and was rejected at every turn. Marshall, the former FSU president, said the elected system confuses constituents as to who determines policy. In the appointed system, the school board selects the superintendent. "The corporate model makes sense. You have a board making policy that should employ an executive to carry it out," Marshall said. The system also undermines the image that the school system presents, he said. "If you want the school administration to speak with one voice, that should be the voice of the superintendent who is appointed." But an appointed superintendent is no guarantee that the working relationship will be smooth, said Weightman, of the superintendents' group. "There are many systems where there is an appointed superintendent where they end up suing the board," he said. Blanton, with the School Boards group, said school board members generally prefer an appointed superintendent, but the association does not take a position on which system is better because it works with both. About 15 years ago, the association backed legislation to change the system statewide, but that didn't go anywhere. "The sentiment was if each district has the provision (to change it), why mess with it?" Blanton said. But the argument that changing the system removes citizens' right to vote is difficult to overcome, Permuth said. "The dominance in rural areas will always be for the elected superintendent," said the USF professor, adding that it's not a matter of right or wrong, it depends on the desires of the county. "(The system) normally doesn't matter," he said. "It's when times are bad that people look at how to change a bad situation." Ana Valle-Greene can be reached at ana.valle-greene@theledger.com or 863-802-7590. |
