Departing superintendent guided Ken-Ton in difficult times
By Joseph Popiolkowski, The Buffalo News, N.Y. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Enrollment in the prideful district that counts CNN anchor
Class sizes grew more disparate. The Great Recession hit, and state aid was reduced, resulting in a
For Mondanaro, it was a do-or-die moment.
"He never looked at a problem and thought it's unsolvable," said
Through those difficult times, Mondanaro guided by building consensus and asking for sacrifice. He was among those willing to sacrifice, giving back pay raises for three years and freezing his own salary. The district embarked on a two-year journey that led in April to final agreement on a consolidation plan that will close three schools and redraw attendance lines.
While some other districts have experienced turmoil, most notably
"He's able to take criticism, he's able to factor in new information," said
"Mark should look back on his time there -- and the district should look back upon his time there -- as maybe one of the more pivotal eras in the history of that district."
Mondanaro hands over the reins today to
Mondanaro and his wife are raising their two young grandchildren, one of whom will begin attending
"I'm as vested as anybody," Mondanaro said recently. "It'll be interesting to view it in the same district as a parent."
He leaves on good terms with the board and, if not universally loved after the bruising consolidation, is at least respected by most stakeholders. Consolidation forced the district through a rigorous self-examination, and it was Mondanaro holding up the mirror.
"I am not the face of consolidation," Mondanaro said in January when he announced his retirement. "The unquestionable sustainability issues our school district has were seeded long before I became your superintendent."
He and the
"It was very difficult because you live in the community," he said. "I live here. I understand it. People are emotional. The only thing that's more difficult to close in a community than a school is a church."
In an effort to be transparent, the district brought in an outside consultant, named a focus group of stakeholders and held a series of public forums.
"I think we did it the right way," he said. "I'm not saying that just because I was the leader of it. I'm saying it because we took our time. A lot of people don't. They just make a decision because they want to avoid all of that. We had hundreds and hundreds of points of input at public forums and phone calls and emails and letters throughout the whole process."
The board ultimately decided to close Hamilton,
Other districts closely watched how Ken-Ton approached consolidation, particularly administrators' use of specialized software to model the four final scenarios under consideration, said Ogilvie.
"That is where other school districts were observing," he said. "I don't think anybody in any of the other school districts should or can do it exactly like Mark. But they saw his example of not finalizing something until he was satisfied that he had reliable data, that he understood the big picture and that he had begun to get people on board. That was what has been embraced by other districts."
The best policy
But downsizing Ken-Ton's assets is only one part of what Mondanaro says is necessary to keep the district on the path to achieving its vision of being a premier district in the state by 2020.
During a wide-ranging interview, he repeatedly warned that the district must be "honest" with itself about those sustainability issues he referenced in January, most notably spending on teacher salaries and benefits.
The
"You could nail this consolidation project that we've started completely by 2016, but people still have to be realistic about salaries and benefits and expectations of those for this district in order for us to truly get to where we need to be," he said.
Ken-Ton had the third highest median teacher salary in
The teachers' union contends that the median salary skewed higher in recent years because as the district faced budget deficits it chose to lay off lower-paid teachers rather than create an incentive for higher-paid teachers to retire early.
"I understand what he's saying as he's heading out the door, but that's kind of a new tune that I haven't really heard," said
When the district faced financial stress several years ago, Mondanaro returned his pay increase and froze his salary at
The teachers' union in its most recent negotiations agreed to roll back entitled salary increases, pay more for health insurance and add a step to its salary schedule, which Mondanaro at the time was appreciative of, Stuhlmiller said.
"It's true, we did get some union concessions in salaries and benefits," Mondanaro said. "But that's still
Demographic shifts
Major demographic shifts have occurred in Ken-Ton in recent years. The district is smaller and poorer now, with higher taxes.
When Mondanaro started in 2007, 31 percent of students were eligible for free or reduced lunch. That figure topped 40 percent for the first time this year.
That rise occurred as K-12 enrollment dipped from 8,289 when he started in 2007 to below 7,000 now. Elementary enrollment in kindergarten through grade 5 is below 3,000 for the first time in decades.
Over the last 20 years, there's been an increase in single-parent households, a quadrupling of students with English as a second language and a rise in families depending on other forms of assistance, he said.
"From 1994 to 2014, we are basically a different school district," he said.
When he started as superintendent, the district's tax rate was
The district in 2008 started its "multiple pathways" initiative to tailor a child's school experience to individual needs. They felt validated by "Pathways to Prosperity," a groundbreaking 2011 report from the
"If there's anything I've learned in 35 years, it's all children can learn -- that's true -- but they're not going to learn the same thing the same way," he said.
Under Mondanaro's leadership and with staff support, the district introduced the International Baccalaureate program for high-achieving students.
Student performance improved during Mondanaro's seven years. The high school graduation rate rose from 77 percent in his first year to an estimated 88 percent this year.
The district also launched the "Project Lead the Way" pre-engineering program, a Twilight night school program and a Big Picture program for at-risk students, which will have a full enrollment of 60 students in September.
"That's made a difference," he said of Big Picture. "We have no doubt that a number of those students would have already been gone and dropped out of school. It's not a program for everybody, but it's a research-proven one, and it does seem to be working well."
The district also will have 350 students enrolled in its four state-certified career and technical education programs.
Advice for successor
With the district emerging from such a critical time, Mondanaro had some advice for Mirand, his successor.
"The heart and soul of Ken-Ton was never the issue," he said. "The heart and soul is beating well. Don't listen to some of the one-agenda item people. Things are moving in the right direction. Students are the agenda. The popular thing to do -- and something that could get applause -- doesn't mean it's always the right thing to do for all kids at a given moment in time."
Mondanaro, 58, wouldn't rule out a return to education in some capacity, as long as the hours don't interfere with his new responsibilities at home. But he said he could never again tackle a project as large or as all-consuming as Ken-Ton's consolidation.
"Who could have predicted that I would be looking at it from a superintendent view these last four years and also a young-child parent view?" he said. "It was an experience that happened, I think, for certain reasons for me, personally and professionally. I never could have predicted it. I want everyone to know that it did cause me to look at everything -- as difficult as it was -- from the provider side and the receiver side."
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