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Parents in the Chisago Lakes School District received a survey earlier this month intended on providing the school board with information to be used in a search for a new superintendent.

While most residents appreciate being able to voice their recommendations, it is difficult for some because the job duties of a superintendent aren’t well-known.

Current Chisago Lakes School District Superintendent Dr. Tom Dickhudt realizes that many people may not have a clear grasp of what exactly he does on a day-to-day basis.

A ‘day in the life’ of a superintendent is much too varied to be considered a standard for what they do each day, Dickhudt said.

“It might be more accurate to say there are different seasons in a superintendent’s job,” he said.

A myriad of challenges and issues come up throughout the year that must be addressed by a superintendent, who is acting supervisor of all department directors district-wide.

This includes building principals and support staff personnel. Dickhudt is responsible for all daily management issues that may arise within the district. Sometimes, those management issues are with staff and other times, with students.

“I can go a week or more without any big issue coming up that needs to be addressed,” Dickhudt said. “Then something big will come up.”

Typically, a superintendent does not become involved on an individual basis concerning students, except when the district is considering expulsion of a student.

He is responsible for evaluations for all personnel in supervisory positions within the district as well.

While the daily management of staff and directors is important, Dickhudt feels a bigger responsibility of any superintendent is communicating with the public and staff and working with the school board to address various issues faced by the district.

“Issues at the board level are most important because those entail financial operations of the district, policy planning, district goals, implementation of laws and communication with the public and staff,” Dickhudt said.

“Those issues are the most challenging and those are the areas where questions need to be asked,” he said.

Dickhudt said a new superintendent for the district should be selected based on the particular needs and goals in the district.

At the time he was hired nine years ago, Dickhudt said, the district’s most important issue was facilities planning.

“I was hired based on a background in facilities planning,” Dickhudt said.

He said the district’s buildings are in good shape at the present time, but there is not much room for growth.

“That could all change if we have growth but there’s no way to predict that,” Dickhudt said. “We’ve had growth but enrollment numbers have remained steady.”

“The district will have to look at whether they want to focus on some of those same issues now or if the important issues have changed,” he said.

He said good management and organizational skills are key in any superintendent search, but the district should also focus its search on where it wants to go in the future.

Financially the district is tight, Dickhudt said, but he believes Chisago Lakes is in a better position than many districts funding-wise.

He realizes that communication between the district and residents could always be improved. “We have a challenging district in that respect because we are made up of more than one town and all the towns are different,” he said.

Traditional communication sources are limited as well, Dickhudt said, because the district is covered by only one newspaper – The Chisago County Press – and doesn’t have radio station coverage. The district publishes its own quarterly newsletter, but Dickhudt questions how many people actually read the superintendent’s report in the newsletter.

Dickhudt knows it is an additional challenge for the school district to find a new superintendent when so many superintendents in Minnesota are resigning or retiring.

He has two theories as to why so many superintendents are leaving this year. One is that so many of the current superintendents started teaching in the 1960s when it was seen as the most noble profession and are reaching retirement age.

The other factor, Dickhudt said, is that the managing philosophies for running school districts have been changed by legislative decision-making.

“There’s a balance between leadership and being led,” Dickhudt said.

“Traditionally superintendents have managed decisions. Now, those decisions are coming largely from legislators, parent groups and the governor even. There’s a level of frustration there.”

He said the question is whether public schools are for a public purpose or private good and the district’s decisions are being influenced by so many factors to sway one way or the other.

“When you look at athletics, is the purpose to learn sportsmanship and teamwork or to groom a small number toward achieving scholarships and preparing them for professional sports,” he said.

“It’s the same thing with academics,” Dickhudt said. “Do we provide for each individual student or provide a general track for everyone to achieve to their potential?”

Dickhudt said he is proud of the goals that have been achieved in his tenure as superintendent.

“I feel very good about my stay, but I’m most proud of people reaching the heights of their abilities in school,” he said.

One goal he focused on was helping students pass standardized reading tests by eighth grade, instead of twelfth grade. When he started, passing percentages were at 58 percent, now that number is nearing 90 percent. “I judge success in how well all the students are doing, not just some,” Dickhudt said.

He is a proponent of the MAP testing system, where students are tested in reading and math in the fall and spring to monitor their individual progress throughout each school year.

Improving reading skills is what he hopes the outcome will be from the testing.

“Math, arts, music, those are important but I believe reading is the most important skill we can teach for success,” he said.

Dickhudt also likes to visit each of the district schools to talk with teachers and administrators, but looks back now and wishes he would have spent more time. “I like working with teachers and looking at individual student charts, particularly in reading,” Dickhudt said.

Dickhudt will retire at the end of the school year. The school board is currently working with BKB Associates, a consulting firm hired to assist in the search for a new superintendent.

Public input is being garnered through the use of focus groups and a superintendent search survey that was sent out to district parents.

The search officially closes Feb. 23 after which time the board will decide on how it will address a list of candidates for the position.

Superintendent Statistics

• Superintendents must have a doctorate or master’s degree in education administration and teaching experience, along with a superintendent license.

• A report released by the State Auditor’s Office in 2003 reports the average Minnesota superintendent’s salary for 2001-02 was $121,794. The average total compensation for superintendents in the East Central region, including Chisago, Isanti, Pine, Kanabec and Mille Lacs counties, was $94,485. The report showed Minnesota districts offer lower wages to superintendents than most states, on average.

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