‘Take Risks; Make Changes’

Courtesy Jim Barksdale

Jim Barksdale has offered to contribute toward JPS' search for a new superintendent.

by Elizabeth Waibel
November 9, 2011

Jackson Public Schools has nine months to hire a new superintendent before interim Superintendent Jayne Sargent's contract expires in July.

The district may get some financial help from Jim Barksdale, former president and CEO of Netscape. Barksdale has offered funds to help find and pay a new superintendent.

Board President Kisiah Nolan said she received a letter from Barksdale officially offering the board financial help last week, but needs clarification before discussing with the board.

JPS board member George Schimmel said last month that he thought the board would be receptive to Barksdale's assistance. He said JPS offers one of the higher salaries in the state, but he does not know how the district's pay compares to comparable cities in other states.

"To my knowledge (the district's salaries) haven't been a major difficulty," he said. "... On the other hand, it certainly could be an issue as we go forward."

Nolan said the board is looking for a consultant to help with the search and is working on a list of qualities needed in a new superintendent. After the board hires a consultant, it will set a more specific timetable for hiring a new superintendent.

The school board voted in September to form a Community Advisory Committee to get input on the superintendent search from key stakeholders in the district. JPS announced the committee members last month, and Nolan said the board plans to meet with them sometime this month.

Carol Burger, president and CEO of United Way of the Capital Area, is one of the committee members. She plans to host a series of meetings prior to the search process to get input from parents and other community leaders about what the board should look for in a new superintendent so she can take their concerns to the board.

Burger's top concern is the district's dropout rate, and she said traditional ways of keeping students in school will not work. "I think we've got to find somebody who's willing to come in and take risks and make changes," she said. "Our present system needs to be fixed, and it can't be fixed by the status quo."

In 2009, JPS had a graduation rate of 74.1 percent. This year, however, the graduation rate had dropped to 63.6 percent.

Susan Womack, executive director of the Greater Jackson chapter of Parents for Public Schools, is also on the committee. "I think that we really ought to be looking for somebody with some experience in urban school districts and moving an urban school district forward," she said.

Sargent has agreed to serve as superintendent until July, or until the board hires a new superintendent. The board hired her last June after voting not to renew then-Superintendent Lonnie Edwards' contract. Sargent previously served as superintendent of JPS from 1997 until she retired in 2002.

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