Guilford County Schools extends Mo Green's contract

Mo Green

I've seen some rumblings in the blog comments here about Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools wanting to bring back Maurice "Mo" Green to be the new superintendent.

In case you forgot, he was the CMS general counsel and later deputy superintendent before being named to the top job in Guilford County Schools.

Not sure if this news would have any bearing on Green coming to Charlotte after Superintendent Ann Clark leaves in 2016, but here it is: Guilford County Schools has extended Green's contract through 2018.

The district also said that for the sixth year in a row, Green has turned down the raise owed to him in his contract. His salary is $250,000.

Here's what the school board chairman up there, Alan Duncan, has to say about him:

“Mo richly deserves any of the raises that have been offered to him, but yet refuses to take them in solidarity with the employees and what the employees have had to go through. That is a rare individual.
I hope people in the General Assembly are listening, because our schools are being handicapped by not having our employees get the type compensation which they are genuinely entitled with the very high levels which they perform, and our superintendent sets an example that it’s a team effort and a team needs to be rewarded, not just our brand new starting teachers.” 

Will CMS name an interim superintendent?

Mary McCray

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools doesn't technically have a superintendent right now. That might soon change.

School board chairwoman Mary McCray said Wednesday that the board would meet in closed session next week to discuss a potential interim superintendent. She said the discussion would not involve setting the stage for a search for a permanent superintendent, since that needs to be done in public.

Deputy Superintendent Ann Clark has been leading the district without a job title change since former Superintendent Heath Morrison resigned in November. She has said she would be open to serving as superintendent if the board desired.

McCray didn't say whether they were specifically looking at Clark. But a significant portion of the community has backed her to lead the district for the long-term.

The district has chosen an interim superintendent the last two times the superintendent has left. Hugh Hattabaugh was interim superintendent after Peter Gorman left in 2011. Frances Haithcock was the interim after James Pughsley retired in 2005.

At least 8 big school districts are looking for a superintendent

Just last week, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board chairwoman Mary McCray speculated that the reason Heath Morrison left his role as superintendent without a fight is because he saw "a future out there" for himself.

And if that future is in leading a public school district, there are certainly plenty of large districts looking for a new leader.

The job leading Los Angeles schools is clearly the plum position on the list. Morrison's name has already been linked to the search by websites covering the school system.

For his part, Morrison -- who is 48 -- has said there will certainly be lots of rumors about him pursuing this job or that job, but has declined to comment on any positions in particular.

And of course, there's no guarantee he'd go back into a superintendent's job. Morrison's predecessor at CMS, Peter Gorman, left for a job in the private sector in the educational division of News Corp.

Here's a sampling of big school districts looking for a new superintendent:

• Los Angeles Unified School District (California), 670,000 students
• Albuquerque Public Schools (New Mexico), 94,318 students
• Austin Independent School District (Texas), 85,355 students
• Fort Worth Independent School District (Texas), 84,588 students
• Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (Tennessee), 80,393 students
• Elk Grove Unified Public Schools (California), 62,000 students
• Boston Public Schools (Massachusetts), 57,000 students
• Seattle Public Schools (Washington), 49.269 students

The list was compiled by PROACT Search,  a school leadership search firm that works across the country. CMS contracted with PROACT in the 2012 search that resulted in Morrison's hire. The list was made in November. It's possible that one of these slots has since been filled and I didn't hear about it, though I did double check. It's also possible that the list leaves out another big district. Please let me know in the comments if that is the case.

And by the way, Washoe County in Nevada is looking for a new superintendent now, too.

Postmortem on the public parade

So Heath Morrison,  who's been tapped to Charlotte-Mecklenburg's next superintendent,  says he wasn't crazy about having to come to Charlotte for a public audition.  It's hard enough to announce you're leaving a district you love working for, he said.  Telling your board and your public that you're applying somewhere else but might be back  "creates some interesting dynamics."

Search firms and school boards face that issue every time there's a search.  Jim Huge of PROACT Search,  who ran the CMS search,  says the trend is toward districts bringing only one person to meet the public,  as the Dallas Independent School District is doing.  (As an aside,  that board has also sent members to visit finalist Mike Miles' district in Colorado before voting.)

Huge said the vast majority of PROACT's clients still bring more than one finalist before the public,  but Charlotte's two-day tour for three finalists was more extensive than most.  Board members got huge stacks of feedback forms and had follow-up conversations with many who met the trio.  While I've heard some skepticism that they paid attention,  every board member I talked to said they spent serious time reviewing the PROACT summaries and the individual forms.

The downside,  of course,  is that people who got excited about Memphis Superintendent Kriner Cash or CMS Chief Academic Officer Ann Clark were disappointed.  And both of them put themselves on the line without getting the job.

For Clark,  the whole thing played out on her home turf, with people she continues to work with.  During the two-day meeting marathon,  Clark said she found the events energizing rather than exhausting,  because  "I finally get to be Ann Clark."  She showed a more personal and engaging side of herself than people see in formal meetings and reports to the school board,  and she said afterward that she has no regrets.

She said her run for the top job inspired many former students to get in touch, including people in their mid-30s whom she taught as kindergarteners.  "That, to me, has been the most amazing part of this process,"  she said.  "I heard from kids from all over the globe."

Cash's candidacy inspired strong commentary for and against him,  from residents of Mecklenburg and  Memphis.  He apparently notified the school boards in both cities that he no longer wanted to be considered on Wednesday,  the day the CMS board was making its choice.  Late Thursday,  his staff sent this statement from him:  “After thoughtful consideration and the counsel of my family,  I made the decision to withdraw my name from the list of finalists.  We have made a tremendous amount of progress in Memphis City Schools during the last four years and it is my hope to see our students and staff members continue on an upward trajectory.  I congratulate CMS on the selection of their new superintendent and I wish them the best as they move forward."

It's interesting to speculate about what would have happened if Morrison had insisted that the board make a decision on him without a public tour.  But he did it and says he enjoyed it.  Certainly he made a good impression with a lot of the folks he met.

An amusing footnote:  When the CMS board did its first round of interviews at the airport,  hoping to keep the names and faces confidential,  WBTV reporter Dedrick Russell and I got past security and tried to spot contenders.  At one point,  Dedrick saw a man with a briefcase bearing some kind of educational leadership logo and asked if he was interviewing to be superintendent.

According to Dedrick's account,  the man said something like "Charlotte is certainly a nice place to be" and dashed off.  Dedrick used his phone to snap a photo of his retreating back,  and we spent the rest of the afternoon chuckling over whether he'd scared the poor guy off.

You guessed it:  That was Heath Morrison.

Memphis teachers give Cash low grades

Updated 7:20 p.m. with comments from Cash.
Memphis City Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash returned from his tour as a finalist for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent last week to a report showing his employees give him low grades as a leader.

The city district Cash leads is being merged with the suburban Shelby County Schools, and the commission overseeing the merger polled employees of both districts on a range of issues. Of the 1,225 Memphis City Schools employees who responded, most of them teachers, about 3.5 percent gave Cash an A, 14 percent  B, 30 percent C, 22 percent D and 26 percent F (the rest didn't answer that question). They rated county Superintendent John Aitken much higher. (Read the report here; ratings of the two superintendents by Memphis City Schools employees are on page 18, and by Shelby County employees are on page 36).


Cash said 1,225 of his 16,000 employees is not a representative sample.  He said his district is going through a stressful time,  with budget-driven job cuts in the past, a merger in the future and a quest to rate teacher effectiveness in progress.

"You're not going to win a popularity contest" while trying to make a "sea change" in failing schools, he said.  But Cash,  whose recently deceased wife was a long-time teacher, said values their work.
 
"I have the highest respect for good teachers,"  Cash said.  "Everything I do is with teachers at the helm."


Almost 1,000 Shelby County employees responded to the survey, and their view of the two leaders was an even sharper contrast. Cash got an F from 48 percent of that group, while 74 percent gave Aitken an A.

Cash said what he hears from his staff doesn't jibe with the survey results.  "No one is paying a whole lot of attention to that here," he said.

Updated 8:30 p.m.: The same panel did a phone poll of about 1,200 members of the public in March and got similar opinions about Cash's performance (see page 16).

Board members: Vote-swap story is false

If you've been reading comments on recent posts,  you've seen Keith Hurley's theory about a deal among school board members to name Heath Morrison as superintendent in exchange for a vote to launch some type of busing for integration next year.

Hogwash,  the board members say.  Hurley seems to be the only one putting his name to the rumor,  but I've heard it from others so it's probably worth addressing.

Richard McElrath,  the member who is allegedly throwing his support to Morrison in exchange for his busing plan,  says there's no such plan and he hasn't made a choice for superintendent,  let alone brokered a deal with other members.

"I would never vote for busing,"  McElrath added.  "Busing was the worst thing we ever did."

Tim Morgan,  Rhonda Lennon and Amelia Stinson-Wesley,  whom Hurley casts as seeking McElrath's support for Reno, Nev., superintendent Morrison,  say the tale is completely fabricated. (I haven't reached Eric Davis, who's also on Hurley's list.)

"That moves beyond ridiculous to the sublime. I haven't been part of a conspiracy like that. That's just crazy,"  said Stinson-Wesley, the board's newest member.  She has never run a political campaign  (she was appointed to fill Morgan's seat when he was elected at large)  and seemed shocked to be the target of such a rumor.

Morgan and Lennon seemed less surprised that Hurley,  who was defeated in the 2011 at-large election,  would circulate the story,  but found it particularly unbelievable.  Both said they've had no vote-swapping conversations with McElrath.

"That is the kookiest stuff I've ever heard," Lennon said.

"There has been no discussion about trading votes for policy decisions,"  said Morgan.

Hurley said today he got the story from a board member who isn't part of the deal.  "The ones that are involved aren't going to tell you,"  he said.

I'm not naive enough to think there are no behind-the-scenes deals hidden from reporters.  But this one doesn't ring true.  McElrath makes no secret of his concern about racially and economically segregated schools,  but he has consistently said the solution is to change housing patterns, not to bus kids.  I don't know much about Stinson-Wesley's philosophy,  but I have a hard time imagining Lennon, Morgan and Davis entering into any deal that would involve a shift from neighborhood schools to busing.

And changing student assignment is an extraordinarily complex effort.  Even shifting a boundary takes months and involves public hearings.  The idea that members could cut a quickie deal to reshape the entire philosophy and put a new plan in place for next year ... well,  I'm going to have to quote former board member Larry Gauvreau: It blinks reality.

CMS finalists: Video and polls

If you missed the superintendent finalists Wednesday,  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has just posted video of the evening forum at Northwest School of the Arts.  Longer interviews with each candidate at the Government Center should be posted Friday,  for those who couldn't watch it live online.

Meanwhile, online polls by the Observer and MeckEd both show Ann Clark as the strong favorite  --  perhaps not surprising, given that the 29-year CMS veteran is the only one well known in Charlotte.  It's worth noting that neither poll determines who gets the job  (that's up to the school board)  and neither stops people from stuffing the virtual ballot box.

That said,  MeckEd,  which launched its poll Wednesday,  had 843 responses at 5 p.m. today,  with 74 percent for Clark.  Ours,  launched this morning,  gave Clark 56 percent of 447 responses.  In both, Reno Superintendent Heath Morrison is running slightly ahead of Memphis Superintendent Kriner Cash.

If any of you tuned in or attended forums,  I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the finalists and the process.

CMS search: Online and lively

If you can't make it to this afternoon's community interviews with the finalists for CMS superintendent, you can watch the session at the Government Center online.

Ann Clark, chief academic officer with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, will be there from 1-2:15.  Kriner Cash, superintendent of Memphis City Schools, will be there from 2:45-4, and Heath Morrison, superintendent in Reno, Nev., will be there from 4:30-5:45.  The panelists asking questions are Randolph Frierson, president of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators; Bill Russell, president of Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce; Bolyn McClung, a Pineville blogger, and Howard Haworth, former chair of N.C. Board of Education.

The format is already stirring controversy.  The panelists, named by school board members, were asked to submit their questions to LaTarzja Henry,  the head of communication for CMS;  they'll get a list of questions when they arrive at the three locations today (full schedule here).

"They're going to give us back a list of questions that are approved and orchestrated,"  said Judy Kidd,  president of the Classroom Teachers Association,  who's on the panel at St. Peter's Episcopal Church. Asked if she's stick to the list, she replied:  "Have you ever known me to read from a script?"

Henry says the idea was to weed out duplication,  not to sanitize the topics.  She said all panels will have a list that includes all the topics submitted.  Members of the public also sent in 30 questions via social media.  The questions asked by afternoon panelists will be ones that apply to all three finalists,  Henry said.

The forum at Northwest School of the Arts,  from 7-8:30 p.m.,  will feature questions from two teachers  two parents and two students. Teachers are Amy Medlin, president of the superintendent's teacher advisory committee, and CMS teacher of the year Karen Meadows.  Parents are PTA president Harold Dixon and Elyse Dashew, who recently ran for school board.  Students are Destiny Planter and Aidan McConnell (don't have their schools).  Heather Waliga of News 14 Carolina will be the master of ceremonies,  and the station will air the evening session at 10 a.m. Saturday,  Henry said.  All three finalists will be at that event,  and questions may be specific to their circumstances and background.  Around 8 p.m.,  the formal questions will end and the finalists will mingle with the audience.

Ely Portillo (@ESPortillo), April Bethea (@AprilBethea) and I (@AnnDossHelms) will be tailing the finalists and tweeting from the afternoon sessions (follow #CMSSuptSearch for all tweets on the topic). CMS didn't allow media to the school visits the finalists made this morning,  but their own PR folks have been tweeting from those visits at the same hashtag.

Finally,  MeckEd is conducting an online poll for folks to pick their favorite,  with results to be shared with the school board.

Who's on superintendent panels?

If you're planning to attend Wednesday's panel interviews with the three finalists for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent, here's a bit more about what to expect, courtesy of a panelist.

The panelist list is as follows:

Panel 1, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (parish hall) 115 W. Seventh Street: Pam Grundy, Judy Kidd, Kojo Nantambu and Guatam Desai.

Panel 2, Government Center Chamber, 600 E. Fourth Street: Randolph Frierson, Bill Russell, Bolyn McClung and Howard Haworth.

Panel 3, Francis Auditorium, Main Library, 310 N. Tryon Street: Rena Blake, Tripp Roakes, Ray Eschert and Daniel Freeman.

Finalists Kriner Cash, Ann Clark and Heath Morrison will rotate through all three locations, with sessions at 1-2:15 p.m.; 2:45-4 p.m., and 4:30-5:45 p.m. Update: CMS has now posted a list of who will be where at what time.


I recognize several of the names, but not all. Kidd is president of the Classroom Teachers Association and Frierson of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators. Grundy is a leader of Mecklenburg ACTS and Nantambu is president of the local NAACP branch. McClung, from Pineville, got interested in CMS after volunteering for a construction/renovation advisory panel and attends virtually all board meetings. Haworth is a former N.C. Board of Education chair who follows CMS closely. Roakes, publisher of the South Charlotte Sports Report, was involved in raising money to save middle school sports.


Here's what CMS spokeswoman LaTarzja Henry's letter to the panelists says about the format: "Please send us two or three questions you think are important by 5 p.m. on Tuesday. We’ll go through each one, as well as the questions we’ve solicited from the public through email and social media, and draw up a list. Each panelist will be given the list of questions before the panel begins. You may also receive extra questions from the audience at the panel discussion, which we will review and give to you as the discussion is under way."

Board Chairman Ericka Ellis-Stewart says all board members had a chance to appoint panelists. She said officials are still working on how to organize the questions.

I'm not seeing a lot of Twitter questions using #CMSSuptSearch, but a tweeter called NancyClare Morgan submitted these:
*How will you harness the parental passion going into new charter schools and bring that energy and commitment back into CMS?
*What do you see in the future for Charlotte's magnet schools?
*To the candidates from Memphis and Reno, what assurances can you give that CMS role would be more than a 3-4 year job?

And from the student group GenerationNation:  What role would students play in CMS policy and decision making?

I'll post more as I get it. I'm also hoping to get the list for the invitation-only lunch with the finalists on Thursday.

No Mo for CMS

Maurice "Mo" Green, superintendent of Guilford County Schools, isn't in the running to succeed the Charlotte-Mecklenburg superintendent he helped hire.

Green in 2008

Ever since Peter Gorman resigned last summer, there's been talk that Green might be the next leader of CMS.  Green was the CMS attorney when the board hired Gorman in 2006.  Gorman was so impressed with Green's work on the hiring negotiations that he soon named Green his deputy.  In 2008, the state's third-largest district lured Green away from the second-largest,  and Green used many of the same approaches to education that won national acclaim for Gorman and CMS.

Early on,  Green wouldn't return my calls asking whether he might apply.  But Guilford Chief of Staff Nora Carr,  another CMS alum, told me this week that he was approached about applying but declined.

"I think he's very happy here,  but he was flattered by the interest,"  she said.

Nine questions for would-be CMS leaders

If you could ask nine questions of the folks who want to lead Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, what would they be?  Here are the questions the school board posed to the people who came for interviews at the airport this week, along with what they were looking for in answers.

Most of the questions are fairly open-ended ones about leadership skills and approaches, though they did touch on some local specifics, such as experience in public-private partnerships such as Project LIFT and  opinions on CMS' strategic staffing plan.  According to the sheet they used,  the board is looking for someone with teaching experience, a collaborative leadership style and an ability to communicate with employees and the community.

Kudos to CMS and board Chairman Ericka Ellis-Stewart for a quick response on this  --  I asked Ellis-Stewart about getting the questions as the crew left the airport yesterday and had them less than 24 hours later.  Next up:  Members will start comparing their reactions to the candidates they interviewed to line up a short list who will meet the public in April.

All clear on change now?

At a retreat Friday, all nine members of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board gave the district's search firm the strongest possible signal that they want the next superintendent to be a "change agent,"  rather than a hold-steady leader.  The next day they realized they should define what kind of change they want.

They followed up in a conference call with Jim Huge of PROACT Search Tuesday evening.  Huge told the board his definition of change agent:  Someone who is  "totally dedicated to continuous improvement" and would make change within the board's theory of action.  "They will not make change for change's sake,"  Huge added.

The board agreed,  and went on to approve a job profile that PROACT will post  (I'd share a link, but I'm not seeing it on the CMS or PROACT websites yet).

I suppose superintendent profiles are a bit like online dating  --  the descriptions tend to be broad and idealistic,  and you only find out about chemistry after meeting face to face.  Once the public starts meeting finalists,  we may get a better sense about the "change" questions on many people's minds:  Will the next leader change student assignment?  The way money is distributed to schools?  The way schools are structured?  The way students are tested and teachers are evaluated?

In other Tuesday news,  the board started talking about a 10-year construction and renovation plan,  with the possibility of a bond referendum in 2013.  I'll post more about that soon,  but unfortunately,  CMS did not immediately share either its summary presentation documents nor the 2-inch-thick book of specific project plans with the public.  The public information staff is working on that and promises to have at least the summary linked today.  It's not ideal,  but I supposed if there's ever a time when some slowness is understandable,  it's one when the district is dealing with a principal's suicide and the resignation of a top data official.

Charlotte, Anchorage and the search

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board and its search firm,  PROACT Search,  are about to craft a  profile of the superintendent they'd like to hire.  One might expect it to look something like this:

"The successful candidate will have a demonstrated track record of success in leadership roles,  and in complex change management.  He or she will have a passion for the success of every child, and be committed to dramatically improving student,  school,  and district performance.  The successful candidate will have the staying power to be a visible leader in the district,  community,  and state.  The ideal candidate will be a results-oriented team player with the ability to execute immediately while remaining focused on long-term goals and strategies.  He or she will demonstrate effective partnerships with parents,  community organizations,  foundations,  unions,  higher education,  business,  nonprofits,  and the public sector."

That's not a leaked CMS draft, but the gist of PROACT's profile for the superintendent being hired in Anchorage, Alaska.  Reader Bolyn McClung forwarded the link to Anchorage's search as an insight into what might be ahead for Charlotte. Anchorage is several steps ahead in its process. That board narrowed about 150 applicants to five finalists, who were interviewed by Skype, then invited two to visit Anchorage in hopes of making a hire by the end of this month (read about it here).  CMS hopes to have finalists meet the public and make a hire in March.

It seems likely that the CMS checklist will include many of the same items as Anchorage's:  Leadership,  change management,  passion for children's success,  staying power,  partnership-building, etc.   But at least CMS can add an item to its community profile:  No snowshoes required.

CMS search: The novel

A full report on what the public said about the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent search is on the agenda for Tuesday's school board meeting.

The Cliff Notes version of the online survey report has been out for more than a week,  but the full version is posing a challenge,  according to the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute researchers who conducted the poll.  It seems the open-ended question at the end got a lot of responses.  Of the 9,300 who took the survey,  about 3,600 wrote more about what they wanted  --  and brevity was not the defining characteristic.

"The number of words in those responses rivaled full-length novels,"  a member of the research team said last week.  "For instance,  'The Grapes of Wrath.' "

As of last week's forums,  the researchers seemed unsure of how to proceed.  Clearly they realized people who took the time to write deserved more than the very brief synopses in the preliminary report,  such as "teacher needs,"  "communications"  and  "equity/diversity."  But it's also unlikely that board members want to read hundreds of pages of unedited comments.

I'll be among the group listening to how they handle it Tuesday  ...  and keeping my fingers crossed that the new board's first meeting doesn't turn into a deadline-buster.

Time for an insider?

One of the themes that bubbled up in this week's superintendent-search forums is a resistance to reform ideas handed down by philanthropists,  the federal government and national experts.

Over and over,  speakers said they want someone who understands and is committed to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools,  someone willing to work out local solutions before looking to the national grant-makers who can bestow millions to test their ideas in Charlotte.  Some explicitly urged the school board and search firm to look inside CMS for leadership.


It's an interesting dynamic.  When James Pughsley resigned in 2005,  disappointment with CMS leadership expressed itself in a push to hire from outside.  Some board members thought insider Frances Haithcock, the interim superintendent and one of three finalists for the permanent post,  would have been an excellent choice,  but they ended up agreeing that the public wanted fresh eyes on CMS' challenges.  The result,  as we all know,  was Peter Gorman,  who was leading the much smaller district in Tustin,  Calif.,  and made a strong impression as a finalist.

There's plenty of frustration in 2011,  despite the fact that CMS is basking in national acclaim and making gains on test scores.  But many seem to blame the worst of recent years  --  massive layoffs,  school closings,  an increase in testing and a heavy-handed rollout of teacher performance pay  --  on Gorman's connections with The Broad Foundation, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and other national  agenda-setters.

Clark

The name that comes up most often as an internal successor to Gorman is Chief Academic Officer Ann Clark  (Hugh Hattabaugh agreed not to apply when he became interim superintendent).  She has a long history with CMS as a teacher, principal and central-office administrator.  She has also won national awards and graduated from the Broad Superintendents Academy. Some will see that as the best of all worlds  ...  and some may see it as the worst.

Davis: Charlotte's hard on superintendents

At Tuesday night's superintendent search forum,  the talk was as much about keeping a superintendent as hiring one.

In one classroom at Myers Park High,  half a dozen people talked about what it would take to break the pattern of superintendents spending three to five years,  rolling out reforms and moving on.  One woman noted that when Gorman arrived in 2006,  he said he expected to be superintendent until his daughter graduated from high school  (somewhere around 2017).  She speculated that he meant it at the time,  but the job wore him down.

In the next room,  the group was larger and the comments edgier.  Several people asked board Chair Eric Davis about the search process.  He said he was just there to listen,  but eventually he joined in.

When Keith Hurley,  who ran for school board this year,  said the superintendent had been getting bonuses without accountability,  Davis told him he was just plain wrong.  Peter Gorman had specific performance goals,  Davis said,  and during the years of budget cuts Gorman declined a bonus even when he met them.

When retired counselor Dee Williams said the new superintendent needs to make eye contact when people address the school board,  Davis and board member Richard McElrath talked about looking at monitors to get a better view of speakers.

Near the end,  David Phillips talked about marketing Charlotte to superintendent candidates:  "They have to select us, too.  We have a house to sell.  We have to put our best foot forward."

That's when Davis really dived in.

"I don't think we have trouble winning someone,"  he said.  "We have trouble keeping them.  Pete came with all this energy and openness and eye contact.  Then he made some mistakes and we got mad."

Davis said CMS "made two terrible missteps last spring: That darn house bill and all the tests."

He was referring to dozens of new CMS tests created as part of performance pay,  and to House Bill 546, drafted by CMS staff and introduced in the state legislature to let CMS launch performance pay without teacher approval.  Both created backlash from teachers and parents, who complained that Gorman was overtesting students and eroding teachers' trust.

The CMS errors were compounded by negative public reaction,  Davis said:  "If we want someone who's going to stay with us, we have to support them when they screw up.  ...  We don't gain anything when we tear down our school system and when we bludgeon our superintendent at the public comment period."

It takes a crisis

Consider the throngs that met repeatedly in Mint Hill a couple of years ago to counter proposed Rocky River High boundaries.  Or the folks who packed school board meetings and marched in the street last year when the board was preparing to close and merge westside schools.

Then consider last night's ho-hum turnout for the first two forums on hiring a new superintendent:  about 20 at Butler High in Matthews,  40 at Johnson C. Smith University in west Charlotte. Weed out the school board members, moderators and presenters and you've got well under 50 combined.

It's hard to avoid the conclusion that it takes a crisis to mobilize people around public education  --  or at least it takes a specific change that affects them personally.

That's an ongoing challenge for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders,  who are inevitably accused of failing to communicate once an issue explodes into public consciousness. (One odd omission: There were no signs directing people to the discussion sites last night -- people were on their own to navigate a college campus and a large high school.)

There are four more forums this week. It will be interesting to see who shows up. Will the people trying to create a stronger voice for Spanish-speaking families turn out for tonight's east Charlotte session?  Will the Huntersville folks who got blindsided by Hough High boundary decisions be at North Meck on Thursday?

Whether or not you agree with their philosophy and style,  you've got to respect the dedication of the "regulars" who turn out for all these evening sessions.  At JSCU I saw Kojo Nantambu of the local NAACP;  Elyse Dashew,  a magnet parent who just ran for school board;  and Blanche Penn,  who's a speaker at most school board meetings.  At Butler,  my colleague Elisabeth Arriero spoke with Aidan McConnell, a Providence High senior whose work with Mecklenburg Youth Voice is immersing him in CMS politics and policy.

Board member Richard McElrath has his own idea about who needs to get motivated: Men.

The online survey about the superintendent search drew four female responses to every one from a male.  The turnout at JCSU was even more skewed than that.  When the gathering split into two discussion groups,   McElrath found himself the only guy at the table.

"We need some men,"  he said.  "The community needs to see males out there working hard."

What do people want for CMS?

Trustworthy,  reliable,  intelligent and fair.  Those are top characteristics Mecklenburg residents are seeking in the next superintendent,  according to a preliminary report on what students, teachers and other adults said in an online survey.

This week the search for a new leader of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools moves into the face-to-face phase of engaging the public in a decision that will shape the region for years to come.  Read the plan here  --  and if you want to speak up,  attend one of the six forums taking place Monday,  Tuesday and Thursday.

The school board and its search firm plan to use the input to craft a profile that will help the board choose the right person for the job  --  and help candidates figure out what kind of community they're looking at.  The goal is to hire a superintendent in the spring,  with two or three finalists meeting the public before the board picks one.

Face time on CMS search

After an online survey that drew more than 9,300 responses,  the folks helping Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools find a new superintendent are ready to spend some face time with local residents.

Next week local moderators and professionals from PROACT Search will hold a series of open discussion forums around Mecklenburg County,  as well as invitation-only small-group discussions with ministers,  business leaders,  teachers,  principals,  neighborhood groups,  representatives of African American and Latino groups and others.  There will also be one-on-one interviews with elected officials,  senior CMS staff and other selected leaders.  In all sessions,  participants will be asked to talk about CMS' strengths and challenges , what they'd like to see in a superintendent and how they can support the search.

Read details of the community engagement plan here  (I'm also keeping a list of links related to the search in the right rail of this blog).

Next CMS leader: Lots of public opinion

Cleaning out paper files for a recent desk shuffle,  I came across reports from the 2005-06 superintendent search that led to Peter Gorman's hiring.  At that time,  Ray and Associates search firm posted an online survey asking people to rate the most important superintendent qualities,  choosing from a list of 32.  They got 2,210 responses,  plus those from  "more than 120 people"  who attended various public meetings in December 2005.

This time around,  the school board and its new firm,  PROACT Search,  will have far more public opinion to work with.  The online survey created by the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute got responses from just over 8,800 adults before it closed at midnight Monday,  and more than 500 high school students completed a slightly shorter version.  It's a far more extensive questionnaire,  asking people to rank the most important issues facing CMS and several aspects of what they'd like to see in the leader who succeeds Gorman in 2012.

There's still room to debate the questions,  though.  Gary Pender,  who describes himself as a parent who pulled his kids out because of  "the ridiculous standardized testing CMS instituted last year,"  wonders why neither performance pay nor testing was among the 19 options for top issues  (for those who remain concerned about those issues,  which sparked so much controversy,  "teacher evaluations"  is the closest choice).

"Either the survey is just poorly put together or CMS (or its vendor) has rigged it because this is a phony effort to make it seem like the board wants feedback or suggestions from the community,"  Pender wrote.  "Either way, it makes CMS look bad."

The survey was compiled by the Urban Institute,  with consultation from representatives of other local universities.  Results will be presented at a series of public forums on the superintendent search, slated for the first week of December (no details are set).   "Once the results are made public,  we’ll be making ourselves available as the researchers to answer any questions that anyone has about the data," said Jeff Michael, director of the Urban Institute.