School Board begins superintendent search

Jace Radke

Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1999 | 11:25 a.m.

If Tuesday night's School Board meeting is any indication, the search for a new superintendent is going to test the endurance of the board with long meetings and tough issues.

Tuesday's 4 1/2-hour meeting was a planning session between the board and Dr. William Attea, who was representing superintendent search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates.

The board has set Dec. 16 as the date they will announce a replacement for outgoing superintendent Brian Cram who will retire in 2000. To choose a successor by mid-December will require the board to pack its schedule for the next four months.

"It looks like we're going to have 400 meetings between now and Dec. 16," board member Susan Brager joked at the meeting.

The first major step in the search will take place on Sept. 14-16 when the search firm will interview board members, Cram, school district officials, local government officials and numerous other groups and organizations in an attempt to develop a profile for the new superintendent.

Those three days also will feature nine different chances for the public to give their opinions on what qualities the superintendent should have. Each day will include public forums at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Education Center, 2832 E. Flamingo Road.

A web page on the district's website, www.ccsd.net, will give residents a chance to fill out an online questionnaire about the qualities they want the district's top administrator to have. The page will be available on Monday and will collect data for the search firm through midnight on Sept. 14, school board chair Ruth Johnson said.

The web page also will include a section on what a superintendent does and fast facts about the Clark County School District.

Along with cramming numerous meetings and interviews into its calendar, the board also determined that the search firm will have the responsibility to narrow the candidates to no more than five or six finalists who the board will choose from.

"It's been our experience that the more candidates we make finalists the less high quality candidates we get," Attea said. "Generally speaking a strong candidate knows that if he or she is one of three finalists they have a good chance, but the higher the number of candidates the more that percentage drops.

"Many times they are worried about it getting out at the district they're at now that they are looking at a new job."

Attea also warned the board that in order to be competitive with other districts the board will have to take a hard look at what it's willing to pay a prospective superintendent.

"The going rate for superintendents in this size district starts at about $200,000 a year and goes up," Attea said. "Three years ago we placed a superintendent in Orlando (Fla.) for $180,000, and more recently in Dallas for over $200,000.

"Both of those markets are similar in student population to Clark County, and in Austin (Texas), which has a much smaller district, they payed a $200,000 salary."

The district pays Cram $158,859 a year after approving a $20,106 pay hike for him in December. Cram has served as superintendent for nine years, about seven years longer than most superintendent's serve in the large districts around the country.

Clark County has well over 200,000 students and is the fastest-growing school district in the nation.