The Superintendent of schools shall be the chief executive officer of the Board, and shall be directly responsible for the execution of the Board's policies, the faithful and efficient observance of the Board's rules by all employees, and the enforcement of all provisions of the law relating to the operation of the schools.
The Superintendent of schools shall meet the certification requirements as designated by the Department of Education.
The Board shall appoint a Superintendent of schools for a term not to exceed three (3) years.
If a Superintendent's contract is being renewed by the Board, the contract will be extended automatically for additional one-year periods beyond the end of its term until it is modified or terminated as mutually agreed to by the parties or until the Superintendent's contract is terminated consistent with statutory termination procedures.
If the Superintendent wishes to resign, to be released from a contract, or to retire, the Superintendent must comply with Board policies dealing with retirement, release or resignation.
The overall responsibility for the administration of the school system shall be delegated to the Superintendent, who shall perform the various administrative functions in accord with the policies and actions of the Board. The Superintendent shall be vested with the necessary authority and be provided the appropriate personnel to carry out the broad responsibilities of the position.
The Superintendent shall be authorized to organize the administration in such a manner as to facilitate the most efficient and effective operation of the District. The Superintendent shall have the discretion to delegate to other school personnel the exercise of any authority and the discharge of any responsibilities imposed upon the Superintendent by law, agency regulations or Board action. The delegation of power or duty, however, shall not relieve the Superintendent of accountability for the results of such delegation.
In addition to serving as chief administrator, the Superintendent shall function as professional advisor to and chief executive officer of the Board. As such, he shall be directly responsible to the Board for the execution of its policies and decisions, consistent with legal requirements and with ethical standards of the profession. The Superintendent shall have the power to make rules and render decisions, not in conflict with law or with Board policies or actions.
The Superintendent shall be permitted to attend all meetings of the Board, except those concerned with his own contractual status. He shall be granted the privilege of taking part in all the deliberations, but shall not vote.
The responsibilities of the Superintendent shall be enumerated more specifically in a job description which, however, shall not act to limit the broad authority and responsibilities of the office.
The Board will conduct an ongoing evaluation of the Superintendent on the Superintendent's skills, abilities, and competence. Annually, the Board will formally evaluate the Superintendent. The goal of the Superintendent's formal evaluation is to ensure the education program for the students is carried out, promote growth in effective administrative leadership, clarify the Superintendent's role, clarify the immediate priorities of the Board, and develop a working relationship between the Board and the Superintendent.
The formal evaluation will be based on the following principles:
The evaluation criteria shall be in writing, clearly stated and mutually agreed upon by the Board and the Superintendent. The criteria will be related to the job description and the District's goals;
The evaluation process will be conducted annually at a time previously agreed upon;
Each Board member shall have an opportunity to individually evaluate the Superintendent, and these individual evaluations will be compiled into overall evaluation by the entire Board;
The Superintendent shall conduct a self‑evaluation prior to discussing the Board's evaluation, and the Board as a whole shall discuss their evaluation with the Superintendent;
The Board may discuss their evaluation of the Superintendent. This discussion may take place in closed session upon a request from the Superintendent;
The individual evaluation of each Board member, if individual Board members so desire, will not be reviewed by the Superintendent. However, Board members are urged to communicate their criticisms and concerns with the Superintendent in the closed session. The President will develop a written summary of the individual evaluations, including both the strengths and the weaknesses of the Superintendent, and place it in the Superintendent's personnel file to be incorporated into the next cycle of evaluations.
The written summary of the individual Board members’ evaluations will be kept by both the Superintendent and the President.
It is the responsibility of the President to ensure that the Superintendent’s evaluation is completed by May 15 of each year.
This policy supports and does not preclude the ongoing informal evaluation of the Superintendent's skills, abilities and competence.
The Board encourages the Superintendent to be involved in the District community by belonging to District community organizations and attending and participating in District community activities.
It is the responsibility of the Superintendent to become involved in District community activities and events. The Board may include a lump sum amount as part of the Superintendent's compensation to be used specifically for paying the annual fees of the Superintendent for District community activities and events if, in the Board's judgment, the Superintendent's participation will further the public purpose of promoting and deriving support for the District and public education in general. It is within the discretion of the Board to pay annual fees for professional organizations and activities.