The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
District has plan for hiring energy czar, new superintendent
By Sean Dalton, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 6, 2008
Dexter schools now have a plan and a timetable for replacing retiring Superintendent Evelynn Shirk.
Advertisement
The Board of Education approved a draft checklist this week outlining the process, which will begin on March 17 when the board will meet to discuss what they would like to see in prospective candidates.
Candidates have already been inquiring about the post, through the Michigan Association of School Boards and other avenues, according to district officials.
Those officials find themselves in the unenviable position of trying to replace their chief administrator while also trying to drum up support for a nearly $50 million bond proposal.
"We are trying to get (this) done as quickly as possible," said Board Trustee Kim Covert, who is also on the superintendent search committee.
The day after the board discusses search parameters, a March 18 forum will be held for "stakeholders" - those in the district who have positions of interest in academics, sports, school government and other areas.
They will sit down and hash out their wishes and expectations with Michael Wilmont of the Michigan Leadership Institute, the district's search firm.
The position will be open to external candidates discovered by the search firm and will also be publicly posted for candidates both external and internal, according to Covert.
"If we follow this timetable, it looks like we will select a superintendent the week that ends May 16, that Friday," she said
Other board members such as Julie Schumaker have been stressing a tight timetable for the process since the beginning of serious discussions with the MASB on the matter in January.
"We really saw the bond and superintendent search as two separate processes and we gave them both time to play out," Covert said. "We didn't want to rush this process along."
She encouraged immediate and active public participation and feedback during the process.
Covert is no stranger to public forums, despite her short tenure on the board. She was heavily involved in public bond forums until elected to the board last year.
"In order to find the best candidate, Wilmont wanted to spend a solid day in Dexter asking two questions: What are the points of pride in our district, and what are the job qualifications that stakeholder groups and the public would be looking for?" Covert said.
School energy czar
Along with a new superintendent, the district will create a new position this year.
One spin-off from the Dexter Community School District's pending bond issue is the creation of an energy coordinator to help streamline energy use and expenditures in district buildings.
The position would be part-time at 20 hours per week and the pay would be determined by the candidate's education and experience, according to documents outlining the parameters of the new post.
Last year the committee working on the bond proposal determined that there was potential for energy savings in the district, and an energy committee consisting of key district officials was formed.
"There are a couple of different ways that we stand to save on our energy costs," said Board of Education Treasurer and energy committee member Dick Lundy.
"We can do it primarily through behavioral and monitoring actions - going through and making sure that we don't have computers running when we don't need to, for example."
The other expectation is that education on smart energy use by staff and students throughout the district would result in an overall energy efficiency that auditors say could reduce usage and costs as much as 30 percent through the district.
Lundy says he expects to see someone hired into the role within the next month or so.
"We really want to have this in gear by the fall so we can do all of the kinds of things that we want to do in time for next winter," he said.
"We could end up saving as much as $3 million," Lundy added.
Additional cost savings will hinge greatly on the $47.8 million bond proposal, which the board recently approved to have the on the ballot May 6.
District officials say a portion of that money would be used for upgrades on heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems in district buildings, automatic lighting systems and energy monitoring hardware to allow the district to be more aware of its energy consumption and costs.
The district looked at a number of options and ruled out hiring an energy management firm, most of which end up collecting a percentage of the energy efficiency savings as a service fee.
"We looked at all of the different models and we really believe that if we bring somebody in part-time we will be able to find the savings," said Assistant Superintendent Mary Marshall.
"Doing it internally is going to be our best bet for saving the money and easily we could recoup the cost of the employee and achieve savings on top of that."
Marshall said the move wasn't just a cost-saving measure, but also "a responsible thing to do."
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
Expanded
Web
Coverage
TOP JOBS
