Superintendent finalists gather praise, dismiss controversial pasts
Friday, February 20, 2009 6:03 AM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Oakland Press
PONTIAC – Both candidates for Pontiac school superintendent have records of increasing student achievement and both resigned amid controversy from their previous districts.
Pontiac trustees on Wednesday selected as their two finalists Lansing Superintendent T.C. Wallace, a former 10-year Mount Clemens school superintendent; and Brian Ali, special assistant to the superintendent of the 3,600-student Mattesen Consolidated District No. 162 in Illinois and a former four-year superintendent of Kankankee, Ill., schools.
Community members and school staff will have the opportunity to meet both candidates from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. when they individually visit the school district Monday, Feb. 23, and Thursday, Feb. 26.
Both have achieved doctorate degrees and long careers in education, but have not been at their new posts for long. Wallace is in his second year as Lansing superintendent and Ali in his first year as special assistant to the superintendent to help increase student achievement in the Mattesen district.
Nonetheless, news reports from The Macomb Daily and The Daily Journal in Kankankee, Ill., that cover their former districts indicate controversy remained many months after they had moved on to their new positions. The newspapers also reported positive stories about both men and their achievements during their time in the districts.
Former Mount Clemens school board President Greg Murray and the new superintendent requested an investigation of finances last spring after Wallace and his business manager Venkat Saripalli left for the Lansing District, although some board members were critical of the move, one calling it a witchhunt.
“In a letter to top school officials, Prosecutor Eric Smith said a two-month investigation into concerns raised by the district determined past administrators may have lacked “good business judgment” but also pointed the finger at school board members,” reported the Macomb Daily in July, 2008.
“Many of the school district’s accounting problems stem from lax internal controls and a failure by the board to exercise responsible fiscal oversight,” Smith said in his letter.
Wallace could not be reached for comment Wednesday. His secretary said he was on the road.
In Kankankee, allegations were made that Ali purchased an Apple laptop computer with a district credit card. The charges against the district’s first black superintendent caused great turmoil in the community. Leaders of the black community say the $2,000 computer question was racially motivated and a way for the board president to remove Ali.
In the end, Ali resigned two years before his contract expired and his or concerns about them, “I always say to the board, this is someone who has great paper credentials but I have great concerns about them,” Wilmot said.
In Lansing, Hugh Clarke, school board president, who announced in 2007 that Wallace was his first and only choice as superintendent, said Thursday he did not have advance notice that Wallace was looking for another position. Wallace told the Pontiac board he has been reading about the restructuring the district is undergoing and wants to take on the challenge of carrying out the strategic plan to improve the district.
Clarke said Wallace “has two more years on his contract that we anticipated he was going to honor. He would leave the district in bit of a turmoil. You can certainly expect turmoil and concern by staff. But we are an experienced board and we’ll hit the ground running,” he said.
The Lansing board president said several initiatives have been initiated to increase student achievement but it hasn’t been long enough to know whether the initiatives have made a difference.
“We are constantly evaluating things,” Clarke said. “You have to wait to see the test scores. We would certainly anticipate with work that has been done with staff and professional development that we certainly expect to see improvement.”
He also said the board had evaluated Wallace twice during his first year and there were areas of progress and areas where more work needed to be done. He said he couldn’t remember specifics, but noted the documents are public. Kankankee, Ali said, “I would not comment on that other than to say that is something that is behind me and move forward.”
Mike Wilmot, president and CEO and Southeast Michigan regional president of the Michigan Leadership Institute, said it is common for superintendents to leave in controversy. Wilmot is the consultant who has provided search services, including investigation of each candidate for the Pontiac district.
“The reality is anybody who has sat in the superintendent’s chair for any length of time has had controversy, especially in today’s environment. That occurs virtually with any candidate you have,” Wilmot said. That doesn’t mean he ignores such issues when he becomes aware of them.
“We have our people (candidates) sign off” so their background and experiences can be investigated, he said. “We go to secondary and tertiary sources,” not the people provided by the candidates as references. We get reactions from them to what we are really looking for.
“The other resource we use all the time in doing our urban services is Chuck Mitchell. He is an experienced superintendent and serves on the National Association of Black School Administrators. We particularly look to him when we are dealing with candidates that are out of state that we may not know to get a good read,” Wilmot said.
However, Wilmot explained that the leadership institute does not recommend which candidates the boards they serve should select.
“We say, ‘Here are all the candidates who applied and here is how we evaluated them to the criteria you gave. These are close matches.’”
If Wilmot or Mitchell has questions resignation papers and the settlement amount with Ali were never made public, something The Daily Journal in Kankankee is still fighting to get as public record. The district maintains those records are private. Neither the board nor Ali would comment to the Journal on the allegation.
When Ali arrived in 2004, 52.5 percent of students met or exceeded Illinois State Learning Standards on standardized tests in the district measured as a whole. In 2007, the percentage of students has grown to 67.2 percent.
Mattesen Superintendent Blondean Davis invited Ali and another superintendent, who retired from a Blue Ribbon school district, to help her continue her efforts to move student achievement up.
“We are on a fast track in this district at 55 percent and my goal is to take it to 95 percent or better,” said Davis, who has been superintendent six years.
“To make that final leap I felt I needed some bench strength on the academic side.”
Davis said her perceptions of his abilities “have been more than true. I’ve offered him a permanent position here. I have fully intended to issue him another year’s contract. But he is so good at what he does, he really needs to get back into the seat.
“It would be difficult for you to do better. You can’t be confrontational if want cooperation,” she said, noting he has a good way with people.
Ali said in an interview Thursday, “I’m honored to be selected as a finalist and I look forward to next round of interviews.” He also expects “the multiple perspectives of members of the community be helpful and insightful.”
As far as the controversy at
Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana. dillaber@oakpress.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment