Goals For Bristol Virginia School Board Includes Superintendent Search

BRISTOL, Va. – Finding a new superintendent to take the reins next July after Ina Danko retires is the city School Board’s top goal for the upcoming year.

The board reviewed its goals for the current year and established marks for the upcoming one during a three-hour Monday meeting.

It must replace the current superintendent, who plans to retire again next June. Danko retired in June 2008 after a lengthy career as a teacher, coach and principal, but agreed to replace former Superintendent Doug Arnold on an interim basis. She later agreed to a contract that runs through mid-2009.

“I’ve been on the board five years and this will be my third superintendent’s search,” Chairman Ronald Cameron said after the meeting. “History tells us this is a long process, so I think we need to begin this fall. It can take six months, if we do a full, national search. So the board will be discussing it, but because the budget takes so much of our attention in the spring, we need to start the process early.”

Asked by board member Eric Clark if she would reconsider, Danko said this time she plans to retire.

“I wouldn’t pressure her. She helped us by agreeing to serve and she’s earned her time,” Cameron said.

The chairman said he hopes the board can identify and interview candidates by early spring and hire the new superintendent by late spring.

“The superintendent search has to be number one and developing a superintendent evaluation form has to be number two,” board member Randy White said. “What we had previously had no continuity and it was very subjective.”

White suggested the next superintendent’s contract spell out certain expectations that would be linked to the evaluation form.

“Surely there are some good ones out there that you can make changes and make your own,” Danko said.

At the board’s direction, Danko said she would obtain several different evaluation forms for its consideration.

Other board goals for the next year include continuing to pursue a new central office, placing a greater emphasis on capital improvement projects and seeking alternative funding sources – such as grants or private donations.

Its list of continuing goals includes efforts to improve the graduation rate and attendance figures.

The school system just missed its goal of 95 percent average attendance, according to the division’s 2008-09 annual report. As a system, the city averaged 94.4 percent annual attendance, ranging from 94.6 percent at Virginia High School to 92.6 percent at Washington Lee Elementary.

“We’re doing very well, but we need to do better,” Danko said. “There are a number of factors that influence those numbers – contagious illness, family relocations, suspensions.”

The division has implemented programs to address attendance and retaining students, which have helped raise its high school graduation rate, Danko said.

Using the federal No Child Left Behind formula, the school’s graduation rate was almost 78 percent, but was above 80 percent under the Virginia Department of Education formula, Danko said, adding the federal standard doesn’t count every type of diploma.

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