The Interim Superintendency

School Administrator, March, 2000 by Krista Ramsey

Johnny Veselka, executive director of the Texas Association of School Administrators, says in his state, prospects for interim superintendencies look bright. Every year, better than one district in five hires a new superintendent. Currently, about 25 of the state's 1,000 superintendents are interim leaders, but Veselka says that number is growing steadily. While at one time interim jobs opened almost entirely at the end of the school year, now they're becoming available year-round--a signal that the superintendent corps is ever more transitory.

An experienced interim can expect to make, per diem, what he made in a full-time job, Veselka says, although in Texas, retired superintendents are limited to six months of full-time work or else they'll lose retirement benefits. But because in some places they're in critical demand, they can make demands a board never would grant fulltime administrators. "In smaller districts especially, they may be able to negotiate to work only two or three days a week," he says.

In California, candidates for interim superintendencies can parlay their expertise into additional cash. "I'm seeing bonuses more and more, says Ron Brown, a field services representative for the Association of California School Administrators and a former assistant superintendent. "For example, if a staff reaches certain goals, there's a bonus for the interim superintendent."

Brown says the bonuses of several thousand dollars turn up in districts where there is great public pressure for higher student achievement, often tied to standardized test scores.

Of course, money is rarely the primary reason a retired administrator would agree to assume interim duties. "It's for educational reasons more than financial benefit," says Stroup, veteran director of the Pennsylvania administrators' association.

However, Stroup warns prospective applicants to be realistic about the difficulties they'll face and to scrutinize the situation before entering. "You should ask about the conditions under which the last superintendent left, and the current staffs support and continuity," he says. "The extent to which this job will be extraordinarily difficult as opposed to just difficult depends on the skills the regular staff members bring to the table."

A Career Highlight

Yet for those who handle its duties well, the interim superintendency can be a satisfying swan song.

After retiring from a successful nine-year superintendency in Sycamore Community Schools outside Cincinnati, Garth Errington accepted interim positions in nearby Mariemont Schools and Norwood City Schools. In the first, he simply stabilized things after the abrupt departure of the superintendent. In the second, he calmed a storm of flurry that had led top administrators and a school board member to resign and left a deep rift in the school community.

"It may have been the high point of my career," he says now. "There are two kinds of interims. With the first, you move into a system so well greased that all you do is keep a steady hand on the tiller. With the second, you have to be a change agent and alter the course of the district. That's how it was in Norwood."