In a series of two meetings, the Falcon School District 49 Board of Education hosted a public forum regarding the draft of the chief education officerís job description. The position is currently held by interim CEO Don Begier.BOE president Tammy Harold said the purpose of the meetings was to get community input about the draft.Harold said the BOE wanted information on the type of person the community would like to see hired. ìWe want to have the community tell us what characteristics and qualities they want to see in the new CEO,î she said. ìMany people have said they want a strong, charismatic individual that is approachable and is good at conveying information to the community. We need a strong leader so the board can do governance and the administrators can do their jobs.îThe first meeting, Sept. 20 at Falcon High School, was sparsely attended, and those who were there didnít provide input on the job description draft, Harold said. The second meeting, held Sept. 24 at Sand Creek High School, had three people from the community in attendance ñ all three provided input.Kevin Butcher, parent to three students enrolled in the district, said, ìI want consistency ñ someone who stays more than one year. I think there is a tendency to throw out a superintendent (CEO) because of dysfunction in the district, and I donít think itís always their fault.îBoard secretary Chuck Irons said the average length a superintendent has stayed in the district in recent years is 14 months.ìThere is a lack of backing by the board,î Butcher said. ìWeíve had great superintendents that have been fired. Iíve been in the district long enough to know the issues. Is the board going to give him or her the running room to get things done?îDana Palmer, parent of two D 49 students, said she found a few areas that the draft job description lacked. ìThe skills required are vague, which could lead to fluff answers versus demonstrative ones,î Palmer said. ìWe wonít have a lot to hold them to.îPalmer also cited several items that the job description should include, such as teaching experience at the elementary and secondary levels, special education experience, budget development and management, public relations, a minimum of 10 years of teaching experience and school administration or business organization development experience.ìUnder the required items, the CEO needs to be able to be the face of D 49,î Palmer said. ìThey need to be approachable and accessible with the ability to maintain confidentiality. They need to have a basic understanding of and experience with education laws.îHarold said she felt the ideal candidate would have a balance of business and education experience to be able to effectively deal with the needs of the district. Palmer agreed, and said, ìYou donít want just an educator who canít balance a budget, and you donít want just a business person who isnít sensitive to educational issues.îBOE treasurer Marie LaVere-Wright said the draft is a starting point so the board has some work to do before the job description is finalized. ìWeíll be finalizing the job description at the Oct. 4 board meeting. if possible,î she said.The goal is to post the position nationwide in November so the person hired has a chance to give ample notice to their current employer and fulfill all contractual obligations, LaVere-Wright said. Depending on the personís availability, the district could see its new CEO sooner than the end of this school year, she said.ìI am very interested in the opportunity to be the permanent CEO,î Begier said. ìIím excited to see what the board comes up with and have them come up with a robust job description. This is all about children, and no matter what happens, I think I could really hit the ground running.î
