nothin Fernandez Calls For Super-Search Halt | New Haven Independent

Fernandez Calls For Super-Search Halt

Melissa Bailey Photo

A mayoral candidate called on the school board to suspend its superintendent search until after the election, amid growing criticism that the process is too rushed.

Henry Fernandez (pictured above) issued that call Wednesday in a press conference in Fair Haven.

The call came as the city proceeds with a national search to replace schools superintendent Reginald Mayo, who plans to step down on June 30 after 21 years on the job. Mayo’s departure coincides with that of his longtime ally, John DeStefano, who plans to end his two-decade career as mayor at the end of the year.

Hanging in the balance: the future of New Haven’s fledgling school reform drive.

The school board hired the Illinois-based firm PROACT Search on a $22,000 contract with a goal to conduct a national search and find a new candidate by July 1. As the firm began the search process, public criticism has mounted over a lack of public input and a feeling that the schedule is too rushed.

There’s now a growing consensus that this must be delayed,” said Fernandez.

Fernandez is one of seven Democrats seeking the party nomination for mayor in a Sept. 10 primary. He was the first to come out in favor of delaying the search. In recent weeks, more members of the public, including several aldermen, have called on the school board to put a hold on the search until the next mayor takes office.

In response to recent criticism, the school board announced it would continue its search, but with a revised goal to put a candidate in place by September, not necessarily by July 1.

You can add your voice to the debate by casting a TrueVote” ballot at left.

Fernandez called on the school board to suspend the national search, appoint an interim schools superintendent in July, and resume the search after the Nov. 5 general election.

Fernandez, a former city economic development director, made the case in a conversation at his campaign headquarters on Blatchley Avenue.

The Case For A Delay

• New Haven cannot recruit top candidates if the candidates don’t know who the mayor is.

National candidates want to know they’ll be supported” by the mayor if they come to New Haven, Fernandez said.

Fernandez argued that before any candidate agrees to take the superintendent’s job, he or she needs to know: The mayor’s vision for school reform. A commitment on the schools budget. And what kind of appointees the mayor would pick for the school board, because those appointees will be the superintendent’s new bosses.

It’s impossible” to get that information without knowing who the next mayor will be, Fernandez argued. Therefore, top candidates won’t even apply.

• Delaying the search will produce better candidates.

Fernandez said by limiting the field of applicants, the current search process is set up for one person to get the job” — Assistant Superintendent Garth Harries.

While Harries is smart and talented, Fernandez argued, the city needs to make sure the pool of applicants includes more than just one qualified candidate.

• There is already an internal candidate capable of serving as an interim leader.

Harries is finalizing his superintendent’s certification and plans to apply for the job.

Harries is capable of filling in as an interim schools chief until the new mayor comes aboard, Fernandez said.

• A new mayor may want to change the direction of the city’s school reform drive. 

There’s no sense installing a new superintendent in September only to have that person clash with the new mayor in January. The mayor, school board and superintendent need to be on the same page if the city is going to be successful in overhauling the schools.

The Case for Continuing The Search & Hiring By September


• An interim superintendent would not have enough power to make significant changes.

Interim leaders don’t take risks” or make difficult decisions, school board President Carlos Torre argued at a recent meeting in City Hall. 

Board member Mike Nast, who has served as an interim schools chief in towns outside of New Haven, agreed. As an interim, he said, you kind of maintain the status quo.” An interim leader would not roll out a new math curriculum, for example, because the next leader may decide to reverse course.

• Maintain momentum.”

The city’s school reform drive has the most momentum of any district in the nation,” said Torre, his rhetoric topping the grand pronouncement national union leader Randi Weingarten made a few days prior.

We need to maintain that momentum,” he argued.

Putting in an interim leader would put school reform on hold for two years, because of the city charter, Torre argued. The charter limits first-time superintendents to a one-year contract. After the first year, the school board can hire them on a contract lasting up to three years. If Harries starts out as an interim head this summer, Torre argued, he wouldn’t be able to sign his first one-year contract until next summer — effectively making his position temporary until the summer of 2015.

Fernandez disagreed. He said Harries, who has been leading the school reform drive for the past three years, is capable of continuing it without disruption.

• Interim candidates scare away national contenders.

Nationwide candidates are less likely to take interest in a search going on in New Haven if they see that an interim superintendent — particularly one who has already worked for the district — is already in place, argued Steve Kupfer, regional president for PROACT Search, the firm the school board hired to conduct the superintendent search.

Outside candidates will assume that the interim person, in this case Harries, has an inside track to the job,” Kupfer said.

Fernandez later said that argument doesn’t make sense.” Anyone watching the process from the outside will know Harries already has the inside track to the job. Appointing him as interim superintendent won’t change that, he argued.

• The new mayor won’t have as much power as you think.

Torre argued that it’s not worth waiting around for a new mayor because that person has less sway over the schools than people tend to believe.

The school board — not the mayor — hires superintendents, Torre noted. The mayor sits on the eight-person school board and appoints its members to four-year terms. But the new mayor can only make new appointments when there’s a vacancy, Torre said. That means the new mayor won’t get to make an appointment until September of 2014, according to the term expiration dates listed on the school board’s website.

Despite movements afoot to change it, the board will likely remain as is for a while. A charter revision commission has proposed removing the mayor from the school board and converting two seats from appointed to elected positions. The changes would still need approval from the Board of Aldermen and the general public in a Nov. 5 referendum. And even if the measure gains approval, the new elected officials wouldn’t take office until 2016, according to the proposal currently on the table.

The idea that suddenly the mayor doesn’t matter doesn’t make sense,” Fernandez later replied. The city’s current school reform drive didn’t take place until the mayor made it happen, he noted.

The Case For Appointing Harries On July 1

Thomas MacMillan File Photo

DeStefano and Mayo brought Harries (pictured), a rising star in the reform movement, to town in 2009 to oversee their school-change drive. He has spent four years building relationships and trust and getting to know the intricacies of the school system. He has been working on his state certification to serve as superintendent and has said he expects to be certified in time to take over the reins from Mayo. He said he has fulfilled all requirements and submitted all the necessary paperwork, and now awaits final official confirmation.

Hiring him on the spot would put to rest any concerns about the downfalls of doing the job in an interim capacity.

Democratic mayoral candidate Matthew Nemerson said Wednesday he believes Garth Harries would make a good superintendent now, but would lack a mandate” if he were hired now. So it does ultimately make sense to suspend plans to hire a new superintendent until after the election, Nemerson concluded.

I think Garth’s got a great background. He knows the system. I think he could be a great leader. But I think people clearly do want the next leader of the school system be part of the new administration. So I think it might handicap Garth if he were selected now. I feel bad about that. I feel the whole school system needs a strong leader as soon as possible. But I think they need one who will be able to make some very difficult decisions and be a very, very strong leader. What I’m hearing is that in fact making a selection now might make that difficult.”

What do you think? Cast your vote at the top of this story.

Paul Bass contributed reporting.

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