2/28/2011 7:00:00 PMSchools CEO search could include candidates from outside the field of education
February 28, 2011, 6:44 PM
By Thomas Ott, The Plain Dealer
The door is wide open for the Cleveland schools' next chief executive officer to come from outside the field of education.
A profile of what the district wants in the next CEO, released Monday by Mayor Frank Jackson, is loaded with leadership attributes that transcend boundaries. For example, it asks for experience in "managing complex change," "thinking outside the box" and skillsuseful in serving a diverse, impoverished community.
The description in the profile calls for someone passionate about students' success, yet it doesn't set strict demands for academic credentials. Strong knowledge of public school operations and an advanced degree are preferred but not required.
The 1997 state law that placed the school under mayor control left latitude to name a non-traditional CEO. Some have suggested that with the 44,000-students district facing stiff challenges in both academics and finances, it's time to think about seizing the option for the first time.
"There's nothing that's lost by leaving the field open," said Cleveland State University President Ronald Berkman. He was named Monday by Jackson to co-chair a committee that will recommend finalists for the job.
The new chief will replace Eugene Sanders, who retired Feb. 1. Peter Raskind, who was the last chief executive of the former National City Bank, is serving as interim schools CEO but has said he is not a candidate to succeed Sanders.
A separate committee drafted the profile after weighing the results of three community meetings and an online survey. Crowds at the forums sounded as if they felt jilted by Sanders, whose decision to step down came as a surprise. The profile echoes those sentiments, stipulating that the next chief executive "will have staying power."
The online survey elicited 833 responses, slightly more than half of them from teachers, a group often at odds with Sanders. Throw in other district staff and the proportion from employees tops 60 percent. Respondents who identified themselves as residents submitted about a fourth of the surveys, while parents, a separate category totaled only 8 percent. Another 27 percent said they work in Cleveland but don't live in the city.
The profile will serve as a "guiding document" for PROACT Search, a Chicago-area firm hired by the school board to line up candidates, said Gary Solomon, the firm's chief executive. He said he expects to develop a "very deep and very talented pool."
Former school board member Arnold Pinkney will co-chair the committee with Berkman. The remaining members announced Monday are lawyer Fred Nance; Charles Ratner, president and chief executive of Forest City Enterprises; teachers union President David Quolke; Hispanic leader Victor Ruiz; Ann Mullin of the George Gund Foundation; and two parents, Jacqueline Muhammad and Nancy McCrickard.
The school board is expected to hire a CEO by June. State law requires concurrence from Jackson.