The Races Superintendents Run

School Administrator, Sept, 1997 by John A. Whritner

I've been asked this question countless times: Just what does a superintendent of schools do anyway?

After 25 years in the role, I think I've come up with an analogy that properly describes the job.

Being a superintendent is akin to competing in the Olympics. You are asked to run in two events--the low hurdles and high hurdles--simultaneously. The race will run from August to June, and, if you are lucky, you will get several weeks off in July to rest up before starting the race over again.

The low hurdles is your favorite race. This event is what you are trained to do. It is primarily a daytime race. It's the race you run with people who are fellow educators. Together, you chart the course and compete as a team, rather than as individuals. This race has many rewards. You get to see children in their classrooms on a regular basis and you know that your running in this race makes a difference in their lives. Periodic visits to kindergarten classrooms creates your version of a Gatorade elixir.

Your colleagues in the race are usually of a like mind. Parents on the sidelines cheer you on. Some will occasionally stumble onto the track and say you are picking on their child or insist that the hurdles be raised, but mostly they are supportive. Then there are the taxpayers who complain about the cost of the event and want to reduce the overhead (or get rid of the lead runner). They usually spring up at times that can be anticipated.

Each day you run a segment of this race, and usually you finish the day feeling exhilarated because you have seen progress on something of value--the lives of children.

Nighttime Hazards

Unfortunately, your day and the races don't end with the low hurdles. Come evening (and sometimes weekends), you are called on to run the high hurdles. Tired from your daytime activities, you need to pull body and soul together for the next event--and do so with a smile (and sometimes without supper).

Not only are the hurdles higher in this race, but they are often poorly lit and of uneven sizes and shapes. Every superintendent faces the budget hurdles. Many would liken this event to a steeplechase rather than a hurdle as sometimes pits or ponds materialize on the other side of the hurdle. You never know what you will find.

The board of education presents the first set of hurdles. As you run the race they pepper you with questions. Sometimes they change the finish line. They worry about other town agencies that are looking over everyone's shoulders and setting up the next strand of hurdles. The town's budgetary body wants you to run the race with the same budget you had the year before (or less). They, too, want a justification for every staff member or paper clip you plan on using in the race.

The town's legislative body (Greenwich has one of the biggest in the country with 230 representatives) doesn't trust anything done by the board of education or the district's budgetary body so they will want to set up their own race course and establish their rules for running the race. They like to change the course midstream to see if you are still awake. Each of these groups likes to keep the race running from early evening to late night (or early morning) to check on your stamina. They take turns so they can keep ahead of you wherever possible. Unfortunately, the budget hurdle isn't the only one you face.

Each year, superintendents face new hurdles. Right now, many are dealing with the construction hurdle. (It wasn't too long ago that it was the closing of school buildings hurdle.) Redistricting is a regular favorite and usually comes equipped with its own land mines set on each side of the hurdle. We are beginning to see new hurdles having to do with standards and accountability. For some, there is the issue of whether our schools are racially or ethnically balanced. There's also the special education hurdle, the class size hurdle, the talented and gifted hurdle, the teacher termination hurdle, the "you make too much money for such a slow runner" hurdle and the "fire the footoall coach" hurdle, which quickly is followed by the "you hired that new bum?" hurdle. And so forth.

A Lonely Existence

As you run the race, you keep looking to the sidelines to see if you need to stop and kibitz with some of you supporters, who may be weakening in their enthusiasm. Or perhaps you need to stop and nurture relationships with some former enemies, who may be seeing the wisdom of your ways (though don't count on too many of these). Needless to say, your favorite movie is "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner."

Unfortunately, your regime of constant running (and dodging) doesn't lead to a healthy body. Exhaustion doesn't contribute to an active mind. Being overtired leads to a split personality that loves the day race but detests the night race.

You've been anointed as the leader of the race, but no one seems to hear what you have to say if you are too far in front of the pack and they don't trust you if you suddenly drop back to hear what they've got to say. Too many community members have run the race of education and they can't believe that you can run a better course than they can.