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SALT LAKE CITY — The Jordan School District Board of Education is on the cusp of hiring a new superintendent — a process more than a third of the state's 41 districts have undertaken in the past year.
Among the 16 districts that have been out for hire recently, two districts, Murray and Weber, announced new superintendents just this week, and Jordan plans to announce its new leader at a school board meeting Tuesday.
Vern Henshaw, former president of the Utah Superintendents Association, said the widespread turnover seems to be a coincidence.
We have longevity with our superintendents, but it just kind of all hit at the same time.
–JoDee Sundberg
"It's kind of just one of those things," said Henshaw, who is the current superintendent of the Alpine School District.
Most of the retiring superintendents have been long-tenured, said JoDee Sundberg, president of the Utah School Boards Association. Superintendents nationwide serve an average of three to five years, she said, yet several of the Utah administrators who have retired held the job for double or triple that.
"We have longevity with our superintendents," she said, "but it just kind of all hit at the same time."
Barry Newbold retired from the Jordan District in January after 14 years on the job. Former Granite superintendent Stephen Ronnenkamp had held the post for 14 years when he retired, and soon-to-retire Murray superintendent Richard Tranter has been on job for 13 years.
Larry Shumway, state superintendent for public instruction, said he foresees even more changes in the near future. He said he knows of at least 20 Utah superintendents who have been in education long enough to retire.
"I think there's going to be quite a bit of additional change in these positions in the next couple of years," he said.
I think there's going to be quite a bit of additional change in these positions in the next couple of years.
–Larry Shumway
In addition to being an oddity, having so many openings at the same time poses some challenges for school boards, which are responsible for hiring district superintendents.
"The competition for people to fulfill these positions when you have this many openings becomes greater," Shumway said.
Adding to the volume of openings is the slack economy, which has caused many districts to offer less compensation than in the past, making it harder to attract out of state candidates. The national average salary for 2009 was more than $155,000 according to the U.S. Census. The average salary of a superintendent in Utah is around $120,000 - $125,000, Sundberg said.
"That is probably lower now," Sundberg said. "Everything has been lowered down" with the influx of new administrators.
Most of the leaders of small districts make less than $100,000 a year, she said, while the heads of the larger districts can earn $160,000 to $200,000-plus, depending on how long they've held the position.
Some school boards have found candidates "waiting in the wings" among their current staff, Shumway said, while others have had to conduct nationwide searches to find qualified applicants while hiring interim leaders. The job is a tough one to fill on years when there are few openings.
Superintendents are the "manager" of the district, Sundberg said, and report directly to the school board. They hire all district staff and principals and are the final OK on policies.
"It's hard and it has a lot of very high expectations," Shumway said.
School districts that have had superintendents retire in the past year:
Box Elder: Ron Wolff replaced Steven Laing in July 2010. Laing was serving as interim superintendent while the district searched for a replacement for Martell Menlove, who took a job as deputy superintendent at the State Office of Education
Carbon: George Park took over in June 2010 for Patsy Bueno, but later resigned. Bueno is serving as interim superintendent.
Duchesne: David Brotherson replaced John Aland in July 2010
Garfield: Maloy Dodds replaced Janice Hatch in January 2011. Dodds is serving as interim superintendent while the Garfield school board looks for a permanent superintendent.
Granite: Martin Bates replaced Stephen Ronnenkamp in September 2010.
Jordan: Gregory Hudnall, Patrice Johnson, or Samuel Ray will replace David Stoddard in July 2011. Stoddard became interim superintendent after Barry Newbold retired in January 2011. The Jordan school board will announce its selection April 19.
Juab: James Shank replaced Kirk Wright in July 2010
Millard: David Styler replaced David Taylor in July 2010.
Morgan: Kenneth Adams replaced Ron Wolff in July 2010.
Murray: Steven Hirase will replace Richard Tranter in July 2011.
Nebo: Rick Nielsen replaced Chris Sorensen in October 2010.
North Sanpete: Leslie Keisel replaced Courtney Syme in July 2010.
Sevier: Myron Mickelsen replaced Brent Thorne in June 2010.
Tintic: Kodey Hughes replaced Ron Barlow in July 2010.
Wayne: Burke Torgerson will replace Jessie Pace in July 2011.
Weber: Jeff Stephens will replace Michael Jacobsen in July 2011.
Email:mfarmer@ksl.com
