1/31/2011 8:00:00 PMCleveland mayor names committee to help shape search for new schools CEO

January 31, 2011, 10:00 PM

 By Thomas Ott, The Plain Dealer

Darnell Fenderson is just 16, but he is ready to sit down with a roomful of adults and develop a job description for the Cleveland schools' next chief executive officer.

Mayor Frank Jackson on Monday released the names of the 28 committee members (See below for committee list and when members will meet) charged with creating a profile for Eugene Sanders' successor. Will it be an academic capable of lifting lowly test scores? A corporate type whose business skills can pull the district back from the brink of financial ruin? A hybrid of the two?

Jackson filled the committee with a cross-section that includes prominent lawyer Fred Nance, Cleveland State University President Ronald Berkman, other figures from academia, and civic, business, foundation and religious leaders. Also on board are three school board members, two councilmen, three parents, a principal and a teacher.

Darnell, the lone youth representative, was recommended by his principal based on his "inclusiveness." The teenager, a junior at the Cleveland School of Science and Medicine at John Hay Campus, says he has strong opinions about what is needed in the schools and is already preparing for the committee's first meeting on Feb. 10.

Darnell hopes to land a CEO who pushes for better preparation on college-entrance examinations and prods parents into getting involved in their children's education. Thanks to mentoring by Freemasons members, he won't shy from speaking up among them.

I'm around people like that all the time," he said.

The Rev. Felix Muniz,the founder of Galilean Theological Center, said he wants a chief executive officer who is sensitive to Hispanic and other cultures in Cleveland and understands trends in the community.

David Carney was on the school board when Barbara Byrd-Bennett served as the district's chief executive, and he has two children in the system. He is seeking someone who can keep the schools going should Ohio cut aid that supplies the district with two-thirds of its revenue.

"I'm really worried that the state is going to balance its budget on the backs of poor kids," said Carney, an associate law professor at Case Western Reserve University. "It's a tough job we're hiring for."

A search committee hired by the school board will aid in the selection. Jackson will name a smaller committee that will interview candidates and recommend two or three finalists. The board, with Jackson's consent, is expected to pick the next CEO in June.

Sanders, who retired effective today, met Monday with central office employees to say goodbye and thank you. He is a candidate for president at Bowling Green State University, but both parties say he is not a shoo-in.

Peter Raskind, the last CEO of National City Bank before it merged with PNC, will act as theschools' interim leader and is expected to stabilize the operation before Sanders' long-term replacement takes over.

Raskind, who also addressed the headquarters staff, said he would devote all his energy to working with them. He assured the employees that he has no preconceptions about curriculum and education.

New committee will seek public input
Mayor Frank Jackson has named an advisory committee to help in the search for the Cleveland schools' next chief executive officer. Members include:

David Abbott, executive director, George Gund Foundation

Rashidah Abdulhaqq, school board

Ronald Berkman, president, Cleveland State University

David Carney, parent, former school board member

Rev. Theodore Caviness, pastor, Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church

Julian Earls, community leader

Darnell Fenderson, student, Cleveland School of Science and Medicine

Lee Friedman, executive director, Cleveland Scholarship Programs

John Hairston, community leader, former schools spokesman

LaVerne Hooks, principal, Garrett Morgan Campus-School of Science
 
Martin Keane, City Council

Rev. C. Jay Matthews, pastor, Mt. Sinai Baptist Church

Nancy McCrickard, parent

Darrell McNair, board member, Presidents' Council

Jacqueline Muhammad, parent

Ann Mullin, senior program officer, George Gund Foundation

Rev. Felix Muniz, founder, Galilean Theological Center

Fred Nance, lawyer

Natalie Peterson, school board

Arnold Pinkney, community leader, former school board member

Terrell Pruitt, City Council

Iris Rodriguez, school board

Victor Ruiz, executive director, Esperanza

Michael Schoop, president, Cuyahoga Community College's Metro Campus

Faye Spence, GradsNet Foundation

Cyrus Taylor, dean, Case Western Reserve University College of Arts and Sciences

Jim Wagner, teacher, Union Elementary, Cleveland Teachers Union board

Helen Williams, program director, Cleveland Foundation
 

Meeting schedule

The committee will conduct three meetings at which the public can say what it hopes to see in the district's next leader. The meetings will be Thursday, Feb. 10 at the Michael Zone Recreation Center, 6301 Lorain Ave.; Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 5 Points Community Center, 813 East 152nd St.; and Thursday, Feb. 17 at the Zelma George Recreation Center, 3155 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. All will start at 7 p.m., lawyer