By Marty Mayfield
- KRTN Multi-Media
Raton Schools Superintendent Neil Terhune made the official announcement at the Monday November 16, school board meeting that he will resign from his position effective June 30, 2016.
Terhune indicated that he wants to finish out his contract and not leave the school hanging. He indicated however that personal reasons could move that decision up to the end of May. The school board will begin the search for a new superintendent as soon as possible to find the right person and not have to rush their decision.
The Raton School Board would be wise to seek assistance in selecting a new superintendent. In my short 30 years in education I worked under 16 superintendents, (25 years in Raton = 14 superintendents). A superintendent’s average stay in a district is 3-5 years. What is a district to do to stop the revolving door of new faces, new direction, new agendas? First it would be important as a Board to have a common vision and mission. The present Raton superintendent came to town and wrote the vision and mission for the Raton Public Schools with no help or input from the Board, staff, or more importantly the stakeholders of our community. How can this be a sign of good leadership? When the Board can’t agree on what direction they want to see the District move, they will not be able to find a person who can provide leadership. This Board needs to do some deep soul searching, and it wouldn’t hurt to educate themselves on what it takes to provide quality education. They need to interview stakeholders,(parents, staff, community members) to better inform their decision. They need to put aside their personal agendas so to select a person whose heart is truly here for kids. The sad thing about our public education system is just this. We have lay people who mostly have no knowledge of how a public education system works. They then are responsible for hiring asuperintendent who they “hope” will follow their agendas. They have to trust the superintendent, because of their lack of knowledge. They need to create a “vetting process” because many superintendents come with high recommendations simply to help them leave another District. I was able to find things out about the current superintendent that should have eliminated him from the original pool of candidates. Sadly the morale of the Raton Public Schools staff is at the lowest I’ve ever seen. Most staff understand that their responsibility is to the kids, and to their profession. Most will continue to seek to do well. They know that another superintendent will mean a change in procedures, a focus on whatever the new candidate deems important, and a shift in staff, whether it be administration or teachers. Those who have spent some time in education know the procedure well. They know that in a few years the new superintendent will have burned his/her bridges, and they (the local staff) will still be here chipping away, starting over each year with new ideas and a new focus. If they are young enough (or silly hopeful, like myself) they might hope that the “new superintendent” will be in their corner to truly provide the help & support needed for them to excel in their profession. The Raton Board of Education has a daunting task. I hope they take it seriously, put aside their personal agendas, and find out what our District needs in a leader. Now that I get to sit on the sidelines because the current superintendent decided last year that “some are better than others” I will be actively watching this procedure. Now my focus is solely on my own children and their education, which unfortunately hinges on a system of failures.