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School superintendent gets one-year contract extension
By KATHY FERGUSON
Article published on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 |
PINELLAS COUNTY – The School Board voted June 20 to extend by one year the employment contract for Superintendent Clayton Wilcox. This 4-3 vote will keep the top school official in the district until June 2010.
But the vote wasn’t unanimous as board members Janet Clark, Linda Lerner and Mary Russell voted against the extension. Russell said she couldn’t approve the idea because an improvement plan for Wilcox wasn’t in place, and no results have been seen from last year. She added that she has seen a “big decline in support” from the board for the superintendent since last year’s evaluation.
Both Clark and Lerner said they didn’t support the concept of a rolling contract used by the district.
Board members Nancy Bostock, Mary Brown, Carol Cook and Jane Gallucci voted to add another contract year. Bostock said the fact that many school districts are plagued with dealing with “rolling superintendents” signaled a need for stability in Pinellas.
Gallucci expressed her support for Wilcox’ performance and initiatives.
“I like the changes that are happening,” she said. “And we need the time to carry out those changes.”
Brown echoed Gallucci’s comments saying she heard positive comments from many parents and some teachers about the direction the district was heading.
“Remember that no one is perfect,” Brown said, adding that if board members received evaluations “we might hate to see what our performance appraisals would be.”
Cook agreed that stability was a key issue and that a message needed to be sent that a longterm superintendent was a high priority. But Cook also added that the board itself needed to “step up to the plate to function as a team to move the district forward.”
This vote came after the board’s annual evaluation of Wilcox. The superintendent earned average to above-average reviews overall with Russell and Clark expressing much dissatisfaction with his work. He has been the superintendent for 19 months.
At the meeting, Wilcox outlined several items for approval over the next year. He said he would develop plans to improve employee morale and work to build better communication with employees and the community.
He also said he would work to review policy changes with the board and develop a “strategic plan” for the district based on highest student achievement and safety improvements for students and school employees.
In other news, the board approved several personnel moves within the district. Nick Grasso, former principal at Clearwater High School, will move into a newly developed position of executive director of physical education, driver education and extracurricular activities. Originally Wilcox recommended Grasso for director of transportation, but the board balked at that idea, recommending a national search for that position.
In a move to place more emphasis on technical education, John Leanes from Boca Ciega High School will move to a new position of assistant to the superintendent for career, technical and vocational education. His goal will be to support middle and high school renewal and workforce development. David Barnes was moved to coordinate activities at both of the district’s Pinellas Technical Education Centers.
Also with the move of Nancy Zambito to a superintendent’s job in Tennessee, Wilcox asked Julie Janssen, principal of St. Petersburg High School, to take over the Pinellas deputy superintendent spot.
In a 6-1 vote, Russell voted against the personnel moves. She had concerns about the selection process and the increased number of employees reporting directly to the superintendent.
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Article published on Wednesday, June 28, 2006
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