Updates on U-46 leader search can be found online

For the last decade, my father has proudly sported this garish orange and blue T-shirt -- "The information age," it proclaims, "is the age of information."

Whether the shirt has become a favorite item because of its fit or its motto, its continual existence has become a major source of teasing for my brother and me.

"Dad, you type with two fingers," we often say. "You're not exactly techno-savvy."

I found myself thinking about that shirt Monday night, when only eight community members showed up to hear ProAct Search Inc. present results from January forums and surveys to the school board.

Community concerns, including a need for increased school safety, academic accountability, better staff morale, a lack of discipline, a need for smaller class sizes, and bitterness over outgoing Superintendent Connie Neale's retirement, were outlined in the firm's nine-page report, said consultants Nancy Noeske, Jack Fagan and Claudyne Whitaker.

Forums and interviews involved a total of 375 people, Noeske said.

Some 1,320 others responded to a survey to tweak the "working draft" of qualities sought in a new leader.

"Our largest response to a survey in 11 years was previously 1,000," she said. "1,320 responses is excellent for a community that stretches across three counties."

When asked to describe optimal characteristics in the new superintendent, 76 percent of respondents called for a deep personal commitment to education. An ability to advocate for school funding was a priority for 64 percent.

Respondents also suggested creating a "community transition team" to help the new superintendent find the community's pulse.

Hoping to have a superintendent in place by May, ProAct will now begin screening and interviewing applicants. Candidate materials will be presented to the board the week of March 17, Noeske said.

"Things will happen very rapidly from this point on," she said.

Noeske recommended that the board post ProAct's results on the district's Web site, www.u-46.org. "I can't fathom why we wouldn't," board President Ken Kacyznski said.

For those who couldn't, or wouldn't, brave the frigid temperatures to attend Monday's meeting, the "information age" has come through in the clutch.

Read through ProAct's lengthy report to see how your district concerns stacked up to others, and keep abreast of the next steps in the search process from home, at work, or at the library.

All it takes, after all, is two fingers to type U-46's address. Tacky T-shirt optional.