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Friday, January 18, 2008
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Internal search for new school superintendent appears to point to Steve Razidlo
Staff Writer The Brainerd School District's next superintendent may already be seated in a nearby office of retiring Superintendent Jerry Walseth.
In an emergency session of the School Board Personnel Committee, three school board members unanimously voted Thursday to recommend the board conduct an internal search only for a new superintendent. They also formally accepted Walseth's resignation, which he submitted to the board at its meeting Monday.
An internal search will mean that the school board has essentially one prime candidate in the district who has the proper credentials and experience to be named the next superintendent: Assistant Superintendent Steve Razidlo.
All three board members said they want to discuss this issue with the entire board and by voting for this recommendation it doesn't mean they couldn't change their decision.
The committee recommended that a special school board meeting be called as soon as possible to discuss this issue, earlier than the regular Feb. 11 board meeting.
Committee chair Kent Montgomery and members Lew Hudson and Bob Nystrom discussed the advantages and disadvantages of an internal vs. external superintendent search. Typically, all board members attend committee meetings but other board members were unavailable Thursday since they were attending the statewide Minnesota School Board Association meeting, said Montgomery.
Walseth said to his knowledge there are two other staff members working on their superintendent credentials but only Razidlo is presently credentialed. However contacted after the meeting, Razidlo, who did not attend the meeting, said he believes there are about a half-dozen district employees who have superintendent credentials.
Razidlo succeeded former Assistant Superintendent Gary Phillips in 2006. He had previously worked for nine years in the district, spending two years as Brainerd High School assistant principal before serving as BHS principal for seven years. Razidlo is a 1980 Central High School graduate from Norwood-Young America and received his undergraduate degree in English language arts from the University of Maine in Farmington and his master's degree from the University of Maine in Orono.
For 10 years he served as a teacher, coach, athletic director and later as a principal in Maine before he and his wife, Dawn, moved to Brainerd. In 1999 he obtained his superintendent licensure from St. Cloud State University. He and his wife have five children, ages 6-23.
Montgomery said from the research he's done through the MSBA and other sources, it would probably cost the district between $5,000-$7,000 to conduct an external search using its own resources while hiring an outside firm - as 80 percent of metro school districts do - would cost about $30,000.
Hudson said during the 1999 superintendent search, which the school board conducted without hiring a search firm, board members relied heavily on former board member Janet Moran who devoted much of her time to the search.
"We don't have a Mrs. Moran at this point who has the time to devote but maybe we have sources we could use, I don't know," said Hudson.
Committee members discussed how they already have a qualified in-house candidate, how the superintendent candidate pool is not nearly as deep as it was in 1999 and how the district's failed referendum and ongoing budget cuts might make the district look unappealing to good candidates.
"The situation is different than it was nine years ago," said Hudson. "At the time our district was healthy, had been well-managed for 19 years and had a great deal of credibility in educational circles. I think realistically if we go out in an open search we're carrying a lot of baggage with us. A lot of questions are being wrestled with in this district and community. I'm not sure if it puts our district in a very good position in essentially selling ourselves to a candidate who would want to come here in light of our situation here."
Montgomery said according to a MSBA source, prospective superintendent candidates look at a district's location, reputation and salary.
"I am at this point in favor of an in-house consideration," said Hudson. "We have only one potential candidate at this point. If we decide to go that way I anticipate we'd have some in-depth discussions with that person and see what his goals are. I find myself at this stage leaning toward that than going for an open search."
"There is some attractiveness to having a local person. He has roots here, he knows the district," Nystrom said of Razidlo.
"The potential candidate we have there we know very well and we have a lot of trust relationships we know already," said Hudson. "Those trust relationships would have to be forged by a new person if we went the other way. Looking at the district with the challenges we've got right now I'm more in favor of a hit-the-ground-running relationship. I've not closed my mind. I could be persuaded."
"In my mind, the bigger concern is one of cost," said Montgomery. "Are we going to spend money for an external search and because of a reduced pool (of candidates) and reputation damage in the community we might not get as many people in for that expense and once I looked at the expense and what we might get out of it, echoing Bob, perhaps we have the best person in the job."
"Do we know the internal candidate is interested in the job?," asked Nystrom.
"I think we can assume they are interested," answered Montgomery.
Nystrom said Razidlo has had a great mentor in Walseth and hopefully Walseth would continue to mentor Razidlo during his retirement.
"And that person has a great relationship with this board and there's a lot to say about that," said Nystrom.
Montgomery said he would not want to conduct an external search with any foregone conclusions that Razidlo would be hired. It would affect the candidate pool and wouldn't be right on many levels, he said.
"Like Mr. Hudson said, we are a damaged district," said Nystrom. "We lack credibility with a lot of people in the community. I'm sad to say that but it is the case and we have to make some hard decisions and part of that is to hold costs down and do an internal search."
Montgomery said he is still considering an external search but not if it costs around $30,000 to hire an outside firm. The board discussed how posting the job opening on certain education Web sites, including the MSBA site, would be free.
"What a burden to take on and to come in this community when there is already distrust. This person can hardly hit the ground running and his reputation will be based on how well the cuts are implemented and followed through," Nystrom said of an external candidate. "We need a person who knows this district and, quite frankly, wants the job and I think we have that person."
"I would be honored to be considered a candidate for the position," Razidlo said in a phone interview Thursday. "The school board has much to consider when looking for a replacement for Mr. Walseth and the position itself is a very important one for the forward movement of our school and I wish the school board every good fortune in finding the right person for the position, the right person to help the district move forward during the next few years which will present a number of challenges and a number of rewards for this community. ... This is a wonderful district and even though we are in some of the most difficult times that we have been in during the past 25 years, it is still populated by wonderful staff members and it serves an amazing and equally wonderful set of families."
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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