CABE Official Reviews Superintendent Evaluations, Other Topics With School Board

By Eliza Hallabeck

Nicholas D. Caruso, senior staff associate for the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) and coordinator of technology, visited Newtown’s Board of Education on Tuesday, December 20, discuss the role and procedures of school boards and answer board members’ questions. One topic that quickly arose in the session was the process of evaluating a superintendent of schools.

Mr Caruso explained he was a board member for ten years in Bloomfield before working for CABE. At the start of his presentation, Mr Caruso explained education boards have changed over the centuries.

From the 1700s to the 1800s, according to Mr Caruso’s presentation, school boards “ran the school,” but over time, as standards developed, trained professionals were hired to teach and administer. Now, Mr Caruso explained, school board members have “so many roles to play.”

Mr Caruso gave his presentation and spoke with the Board of Education members for nearly an hour prior to the board’s regularly scheduled meeting.

After Mr Caruso spoke about the practices involving the evaluation of a superintendent, school board Vice Chair Laura Roche asked him a few questions.

“It was brought to my attention that there was no written evaluation of the superintendent, and that the previous board didn’t follow their own policies as far as how to evaluate the [superintendent],” Ms Roche said. “So the new board, we have nothing to base it on, nothing to look at. There is no basis for us. So what do we do?”

Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson said that when she was last evaluated last summer, the school board used a CABE model for the evaluation.

“That’s a local decision,” Mr Caruso responded. “There are boards that do not do it in writing. There are other boards that have a very formal written process. We don’t typically recommend the very formal written process.”

Anything in writing, Mr Caruso explained, adding later the exception of personal notes, can become a public document.

He recommended to Ms Roche that the school board, if interested, could approach Dr Robinson to review the process of her evaluation.

He also later said a policy committee could review the policy of how the superintendent is evaluated, and, if it is decided a new form of evaluation is needed, it would need to be decided upon by both the superintendent and the school board.

Board of Education member William Hart, who was chair of the board during the superintendent’s evaluation period, said the board and the superintendent agreed on how the superintendent would be evaluated using CABE’s model. He said the board agreed on the process in advance, and met over the course of several executive sessions.

Mr Caruso also spoke during the presentation on the school district’s budget. He said CABE documents call a district’s budget an “itemized list of estimated expenditures.”

“It’s not a budget,” he said. “It is an itemized estimate.” Continuing, he said a school district cannot be run on a finite plan.

Other topics Mr Caruso covered with the school board members included the importance of board members understanding the “chain of command,” and understanding the need to be cautious with what members say.

“When you say something as a Board of Ed member, people listen,” he said. He also reminded the school board that “the goal is improving student achievement.”

Even during a superintendent’s evaluation, he said, the point is always improving student achievement, which, in his opinion, is not stated enough in CABE documents.

Mr Caruso also said he understands the challenges members of a school board can face, the political pressure, the family commitment, and the potential loss of friends.

He also said the rewards can expand a member’s horizons and give school board member the opportunity to leave a legacy.