CK schools reviewing management requirements

The Central Kitsap School District is calling in a team of experts to find out if it is doing business efficiently.

On Nov. 3 and 4, Dr. Mike Boring will lead a team of former and present school administrators in a management review for the district. The management review is sponsored by the Washington Association of School Administrators.

The team will conduct between 80 and 100 interviews of staff members and will review paperwork in the areas of administrative services, business and operations and teaching and learning, according to Superintendent Greg Lynch. After the interviews are complete, the management review team will present a report to the school district of its findings.

The team will look at personnel/employee relations the district’s communications, the superintendent’s relationship with the school board, cash management and other specific areas, Lynch said.

The last management review the district had done was in 1990, and Lynch said it is important the review be done. For starters, Lynch is the fifth superintendent since 1990.

In addition to a number of superintendents passing through the district in the last 14 years, there also have been some significant changes in education reform and the district needs the outside assessment to evaluate how well it is dealing with those changes, Lynch said.

In 1993, state legislation instituted the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, which created both a standard for education and a means to test classroom efficiency, Lynch said.

In addition, the No Child Left Behind federal legislation created a whole slew of new regulations for school districts in 2001.

“The last 14 years, there have been major educational reforms, but the best I can tell — as an example, the central office — hasn’t had any significant organization throughout that entire time.”

The most recent example of the need for a management review, Lynch said, was the recent part-time hiring of a district athletic coordinator. Mike Acres, a former Central Kitsap High School athletic director, was hired during the regular school board meeting on Oct. 13.

The district athletic director position was created to alleviate some of the responsibility for Julie Goldsmith, the district’s executive director of secondary teaching and learning, so she can focus more on what goes on in the classrooms.

“The ultimate goal of the review is to assist with efficiency and strengthen classroom performance,” Lynch said.

Lynch said he did not know if the management review was going to lead to a district reorganization or not.

“I don’t know if we’re going to reorganize or not,” Lynch said. “Hopefully, the results of the management review will provide some analysis and possibly get at reorganization.”

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.