Only 4 apply for superintendent

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004 | 11:41 a.m.

The deadline to submit an application for the job of superintendent of Nevada's public schools was Tuesday, and one member of the state Board of Education said he was disappointed by the "tiny" size of the candidate pool.

As of Tuesday just before the 5 p.m. deadline only four applications had been received to fill the vacancy left by Jack McLaughlin, who retired Jan. 31 after a single three-year term.

The applicants include Keith Rheault, the acting superintendent, two additional in-state candidates and one individual from New Mexico, John Hawk, a member of the Nevada Board of Education, said.

Gary Waters, the board's president, is coordinating the applications, which will be opened publicly at a meeting Saturday in Las Vegas. The names of the applicants -- other than Rheault -- have not been disclosed.

"This is the first time the process has ever been carried out in this type of public forum," Waters said in an interview last week. "Everyone of us on the board and the members of the public will all see the applications at the exact same time."

The original plan was to narrow down the applicants to five finalists who would then be invited for interviews, Hawk said. That may no longer be necessary.

"It looks like we already have our top five," Hawk said. "I was hoping we would have 100 applicants, but I'll take quality over quantity."

At Saturday's meeting the board could vote to appoint a new superintendent without further review of the applications or in-person interviews.

At a board meeting in December two members, Barbara Meyers and Marcia Washington, said they were in favor of skipping the search process entirely and appointing Rheault outright -- a move allowed under state statute. The board eventually voted to conduct a search but decided to handle it internally instead of hiring an outside company, saving the estimated cost of $35,000 to $50,000.

Advertisements were placed in education trade journals and publications and the opening was listed on the state of Nevada's official website.

In 2000 the last time the state searched for a superintendent, the effort was handled by an outside company and yielded 21 candidates, including McLaughlin.

The decision not to use an outside company this time may have backfired, said Gene Hall, dean of the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"When you don't use a search firm you severely restrict the applicant pool," Hall said Tuesday. "You don't have someone out there phoning likely candidates -- you're just waiting for letters to come in response to the advertisements. You need to be assertive and go after the best candidates, and that's what a search firm does."

Another reason for the lack of response could be the comparatively low pay for the job, Hall said.

The salary for the state superintendent is set by the Legislature at $107,433. While the salary isn't at the bottom of the pay scale nationally, other states offer more for handling a single district, Hall said.

The state superintendent is responsible for coordinating 17 individual school districts with more than 358,000 students. The state Education Department has more than 100 employees reporting to the superintendent.

"We're talking about a very important position overseeing many employees and handling a multibillion-dollar budget," Hall said. "In the private sector that person would get a million-dollar salary and stock options. We're lucky to have people willing to take jobs in education when we don't reward them very well."

Clark County Schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia earns $212,242 annually and is responsible for 268,357 students at 289 campuses.

Another reason potential candidates -- particularly those in-state -- may have been discouraged was the blistering legislative session, Hall said.

"I would imagine having the education budget treated like a pingpong ball or a political pawn had to be very discouraging," Hall said.

Joyce Haldeman, executive director of community and government relations for the Clark County School District, said she wasn't surprised by the low interest.

"It's a thankless job and a very difficult position to be in," Haldeman said. "He has to make the school board happy, he has to make sure the Legislature is happy and he has to work with folks in the (state) Department of Education. He also has to coordinate with the Legislative Counsel Bureau and the 17 local school superintendents.

"At the end of the day if you ask (the state superintendent) who his or her boss is I imagine it would be a difficult question to answer."