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Schools chief could leave: Waukesha official has interviews next week in Appleton(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) May 2--WAUKESHA -- Waukesha School District Superintendent David Schmidt could be named superintendent of the Appleton Area School District as early as next week, Don Hietpas, Appleton's director of business services, said Tuesday. Schmidt is one of three finalists for the position along with two internal candidates: Todd Gray, assistant superintendent of business and human resources, and Lee Allinger, one of the assistant superintendents of school services. Schmidt will be interviewed by an advisory committee and the Appleton board on Monday and Tuesday of next week, Hietpas said. Appleton Superintendent Thomas Scullen, who has been in the district for 12 years, will retire June 30. Rick Carlson of SCF Educational Consultants, a company the district engaged at the end of March to help conduct the superintendent search, said seven people applied for the job, and that he had contacted Schmidt this spring to tell him about the opening. Before becoming Waukesha's superintendent in 1998, Schmidt worked for 23 years in the Appleton district. "I spent 10 years there as a teacher, five years as a principal and eight years as a system superintendent," Schmidt said, adding that his family in the Appleton area, including his wife, made the job attractive to him. "I live here and she lives there and we do weekends," he said of his current family-work balance. In Waukesha, Schmidt said, he has helped increase student achievement on state tests, expanded the curriculum to include more Advanced Placement courses, rebuilt the gifted and talented program and created a stronger support network for at-risk students. If Schmidt is offered and accepts the position in Appleton, he will be responsible for a district of about 15,228 students, according to Hietpas. Schmidt said he oversees about 13,000 students in the Waukesha School District. Appleton's superintendent receives a salary of $147,119. Schmidt receives $149,002. In an April 2005 referendum, Waukesha School District voters rejected a proposal that would have raised $5 million more a year for district operating expenses. Earlier this year, in response to a budget shortfall, the School Board voted to eliminate the equivalent of 62 full-time staff positions. To avoid a budget shortfall in the coming school year, the School Board began discussions last month about ways to create nearly $3.7 million in reductions for 2008-'09. Schmidt said the Waukesha district's budget problems did not influence his decision to apply for the Appleton job last month. "I've been in Waukesha nine years, and given my age (54) and looking ahead, I have about one more career move ahead of me," Schmidt said. "Superintendent positions are not lifetime appointments." Waukesha School Board President Bill Baumgart confirmed that sentiment, adding that budgetary concerns were "absolutely not a factor" in Schmidt's decision and that he had always expected the superintendent to possibly seek a position back in Appleton. "We've been extremely pleased with what (Schmidt) has brought to the district," Baumgart said. "Historically, superintendents turn over a little faster than that; we used to figure about seven years was the average." Baumgart added that Waukesha would wait to embark on any kind of superintendent search until officials knew the outcome of Schmidt's situation. Copyright (c) 2007, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |