Demands on District Chiefs Increase
Posted on: Thursday, 15 May 2008, 09:00 CDT
By NORA FROESCHLE
Search a database of the Oklahoma public school superintendents and their annual salaries.
Superintendents work with the most vital assets in the community at stake
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They are arguably the most influential people in any community.
They are called upon to understand and manage whole transportation, nutrition and financial systems, as well as what kind of math a fourth-grader should be learning.
The comparison of a school superintendent to the chief operating officer of a company often is made, and it is a useful one, especially when considering the salaries paid to public school systems' top administrators.
In the Tulsa area, 18 superintendents are responsible for the education of the 121,672 public school students enrolled in prekindergarten through 12th grade.
Compensation for their work varies from just over $25,000 to around $200,000 annually, while the sizes of their districts vary even more, from fewer than 25 students to more than 41,000.
It is the responsibility for the education of the students within their district boundaries, however, that most often puts them under public scrutiny.
Relatively recent federal and state education requirements have school districts under increasing pressure to qualify the academic success of their students, mostly through the use of standardized test results.
The accountability mandated by No Child Left Behind legislation in particular has increased the stress level of the job and decreased the candidate pool for open superintendent positions, according to a story that appeared in the March/April Oklahoma School Board Journal.
Some area superintendents agree.
"It's changed so much," said Jim Sisney, superintendent of Broken Arrow Public Schools.
Sisney said that for a long time, only Special Education was defined by federal standards.
"It was kind of local. . . . It was an outgrowth almost of the one-room schoolhouse," Sisney said. "All that's changed because of NCLB, really."
Today, an expectation exists that math class should be the same in Oklahoma as it is in Rhode Island, he said.
The traditional path to the superintendent position has been through the classroom, followed by site administration and so on, but Sisney said that also may be changing.
"I know some schools back East are sending their superintendents to get MBAs," he said.
A company with a $92 million budget -- the size of Broken Arrow school district's -- would be a big business with many components, he said.
"If I don't understand those component parts and how they work, I could make some bad decisions," Sisney said.
Sand Springs Superintendent Lloyd Snow said he believes the compensation afforded superintendents would be considered low compared to CEOs in charge of companies with similar budgets and personnel numbers.
"But, being an educator and leader in education is more of a calling than a job," he said.
Calling or not, the job can be, and often is, stressful.
"The demands of balancing the needs of children and staff with inadequate resources, along with increased expectations and accountability everywhere is off-the-chart stressful," Snow said. "I love my world, but the typical day is demanding and feels like running uphill without ever getting to the top."
Most superintendents are called upon by their boards to be available at any given hour and over weekends.
Clark Ogilvie, superintendent of Owasso Public Schools, said it is another similarity between a superintendent and CEO that both are responsible to a board.
"I serve five bosses (the board of education), not unlike a stockholders board that the CEO of a major company has to answer to," he said.
As it is for a typical CEO, finances occupy much of any superintendent's time, he said.
"Especially in a year like this one when the prospect of large state aid cuts by the Legislature have the potential to wreck a school budget," Ogilvie said. "Did I mention that fuel costs for our buses have increased 47 percent this year alone? That will give any superintendent a headache!"
If the position of superintendent has some difficult, stressful aspects, it also has perks not included in a CEO's compensation package anywhere.
"I still get the biggest thrill of all when I see each senior class march across that stage in those elegant caps and gowns. I feel like I've made a difference in the lives of thousands of kids, and that's what it's all about," Ogilvie said.
In terms of financial or other perks in addition to a yearly salary, area superintendents receive few, although most are given allowances for cell phones and car insurance because these items are essential for their jobs.
Tulsa Public Schools is the only district in the area that offers an actual financial bonus to its superintendent.
Broken Arrow and Jenks offer annual contributions to tax- sheltered annuities, and most all area districts contribute to the state's teacher retirement fund for their superintendents.
Mike Campbell, superintendent of Berryhill Public Schools, said he chose the profession because, not in spite, of the challenges.
"I would also like to think that a life devoted to serving the children of my community will have merit in the eyes of the community. My career as superintendent of schools has not merely been a job, but a way of life," he said.
Nora Froeschle 581-8310
nora.froeschle@tulsaworld.com
Originally published by NORA FROESCHLE World Staff Writer.
(c) 2008 Tulsa World. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Tulsa World
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