Sisters has advantages, burdens in superintendent search

Sisters will be in keen competition with other school districts for a new schools superintendent. The school district can't offer top pay for its top position, but the community offers lifestyle benefits that may level the playing field.

Consultant Betsy Miller-Jones who is assisting the Sisters School District with its search for a new superintendent told The Nugget that incoming superintendents look at many factors when choosing a school district. Salary, of course, is a key consideration, but it is not the sole issue.

"Sisters is at the lower end of the scale in terms of if we just look at salary (see related article, page 13). What I have recorded is $93,000 for Sisters this year," Miller-Jones said.

This means that the district is currently paying in the range of what would likely attract a first-time superintendent, either a younger person who is looking at developing a career as a superintendent or an older educator who wants to serve as a superintendent the last few years prior to his or her retirement.

Data gathered at the community input sessions held on January 4 to determine qualities and qualifications the district's new CEO should possess suggest that community expectations are for a more experienced person than the district's salary range will attract (see related article, page 21).

Miller-Jones said that the school board will have to give a lot of consideration to this dilemma.

"There are a lot of people (in the community) who would like somebody who steps in really having already had significant experience, and that's where I'm kind of waving the caution flag about the salary," she said. "We need to talk about the level of expectations that the community can afford versus where the salary range is set. And one or the other probably needs to be adjusted - the salary or the expectations."

However, according to Miller-Jones, Sisters has a great deal to offer that will help to offset the salary range it is able to offer. She noted that strong community support means a great deal to superintendent candidates.

Another huge asset for Sisters is that it is a growing district.

"Sisters has the wonderfully positive challenge of growth," Miller-Jones said.

She added that many districts in the state have declining populations, a factor that does not attract superintendents. With approximately 1,500 students, Sisters is a very attractively-sized district. Many Oregon school districts are much smaller with 700 or less students. Usually, prospective candidates are looking for the stimulus of a larger district.

To the right person, Sisters' beautiful location in Central Oregon and its small-town atmosphere may offset the salary level the district is able to offer.

However, Miller-Jones cautions, "the housing costs are higher in Sisters, and the desire to have the person live here may mean you have to pay a little more. I don't know. Those are judgment calls the board has to make."

Looming over the hiring process is the possibility that State Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo will withhold funding from the district for monies it was allegedly overpayed for a home school programs it operated at Sonrise Christian School (now Sisters Christian Academy).

Guiding the district through that problem may be a burden some candidates would be unwilling to assume.

It is difficult to predict what features will pull an applicant to a district or turn him or her away.

"You can never say in black and white if you offer this much money this is the type of person you are going to get," said Miller-Jones.

There is always a salary range and then a judgment call that fits into a person's final decision. Miller-Jones is confident that Sisters will attract an excellent pool of candidates, even if they have less experience and qualifications than the ideal candidate many district residents desire.