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January 9, 2010

Staff report The Glasgow Daily Times Sat Jan 09, 2010, 03:13 PM CST

GLASGOW — We could spend a lot of space rehashing the difficulties faced by the Glasgow Independent Schools District during the 18-month tenure of outgoing Superintendent Kathy Goff, but this editorial is about the future, not the past.

Of course, the past paints the future and there are some things moving in the right direction as Goff leaves central office for a job in Warren County.

Under her leadership, the board of education finally bit the political bullet and passed the recallable nickel tax in order to pay for construction of a new high school. An incoming superintendent must be someone who can take the reigns of that project and see it through to finish.

Goff also leaves with the district passing its annual audit with flying colors and being financially sound. Those are both positive things for a new superintendent not to have to be concerned with. They won’t inherit an economic situation that must be fixed.

Predominantly, the district as a whole maintained its standing as one of the top academic districts in the state. There were some holes, though, as in the continued decline of testing scores and rising drop out rates at the high school that an incoming superintendent must address. Overall, though, anyone wishing to come to a traditionally strong academic district will find one in Glasgow. Its record of producing college-ready students is impressive for a small district.

When board members were asked what qualities they wanted in a new superintendent, each who answered had specific items of interest. They listed such traits as being focused on curriculum, being student achievement oriented, being a team builder and being involved with the public and school community.

If there was one frequent private criticism of Goff, it was that she was not involved enough in the Glasgow community and was not seen enough at school functions. Whether the criticism was founded, we’re not sure, but it’s possible it was born out of her not moving to Glasgow from Warren County.

For what reason she didn’t move, we’re also not sure, but it does bring to light one point: It’s difficult to form consensus and lead while standing outside the trench.

According to state law, it may not be possible to put a residency clause in the incoming superintendent’s contract, but certainly in-district residency can be strongly encouraged and leveraged in the contract. Perhaps the base pay could be lowered and a one-time relocation allowance added.

Another issue of importance is the length of time it will take to fill the superintendent’s post permanently. It can’t take as long to find the next one — one year —as it did to find Goff. She walked into a situation in the district where there had been a lack of long-range leadership due to there being an interim superintendent for a year prior.

In order to avoid having the next superintendent spend valuable time trying to get everyone within the district back on the same page and moving forward, the board members must expedite finding Goff’s permanent replacement. The plan mentioned is to have it done by July 1. That would be perfect.

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