5/11/2011 5:56:00 PMPeter Raskind reflects on service as Cleveland schools' interim CEO

May 11, 2011, 5:45 PM 

By Thomas Ott, The Plain Dealer

Mayfield Heights -- Peter Raskind is winding up his run as interim chief executive of the Cleveland schools, but it would be a mistake to say he is winding down.

Raskind, pressed into service after Eugene Sanders retired Feb. 1, has been more than a caretaker. He closed seven schools, engineered the layoffs of nearly 900 employees, canceled management perks and slashed spending by $75 million, enough to keep the district's head above water for at least two years.

Speaking Wednesday at a Corporate Club Luncheon, Raskind said his remaining agenda includes reviewing policies for paying employees for unused vacation and sick leave when they retire. Nearly 270 employees have collected almost $5 million this fiscal year, The Plain Dealer reported Monday.

He also made a pitch for turning more schools into neighborhood hubs featuring "wraparound" social services and activities. The trend, in which Cleveland has so far only dabbled, is "incredibly logical," Raskind told an audience at Executive Caterers at Landerhaven.

Raskind, 54, is entering his final weeks as schools chief. Mayor Frank Jackson and the school board will interview three candidates for CEO and could choose one by June 1.

Raskind headed National City Bank, presiding over its sale to PNC, and ran the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority for six months, shoring up its distressed budget. But neither position prepared him to step in as troubleshooter for the schools, a position he found fulfilling but called his toughest yet.

He said his most trying moments came while fielding questions about the school closings at two community meetings.

For 3 1/2 hours at each meeting, he stood and met the glare of staff and residents as they poured out their anger and frustration. He defends the reductions as necessary but acknowledges the impact on lives and neighborhoods.

"It was more difficult than I imagined," he said Wednesday. "Those were long nights."

Raskind said the 44,000-student district can improve efficiency, but he continued to reject the notion that schools should run like businesses.

He also said that he considers portrayals of the system to be unduly harsh. The schools are filled with hard-working staff who shouldn't retreat behind students' poverty as an excuse, Raskind said, but nonetheless have to contend with its complications.

"For the most part, things work and work quite well," he said. "Are there challenges? Of course, there are challenges in Cleveland and any other urban district."

Raskind called for reworking the Cleveland Teachers Union contract, currently the subject of a wage and benefit reopener. In an interview after the luncheon, he said the teacher pay structure and work rules are not "sustainable."

He also said in the interview that the school board and district lack a clear vision for what form the schools should take in five to 10 years. That could include determining the role of technology, how teachers are trained to integrate into instruction and how it influences the design of replacement schools being built with state funds.

"We're closing schools, we're building schools," he said. "Toward what end? Toward what objective?"