Dear President Smegal and members of the PUSD Board of Education:
We the undersigned are a group of parents currently serving on the PUSD Superintendent’s Community Advisory Committee (SCAC); our terms continue through the 2022/23 school year. As parent representatives elected by our respective school constituencies, we have both the trust of the community and insight that has come from our participation in SCAC meetings this year.
We are writing to let you know of our strong interest in having an active role in the search for a new superintendent (both interim and permanent), and our willingness to share ideas and our unique perspectives in the process.
As you know, the Superintendent’s Community Advisory Committee was formed to:
- Strengthen community and positive relationships amongst our various stakeholders;
- Listen, learn, and better understand one another on the various successes and areas to improve across the District; and
- Generate ideas to improve communications, district-wide operations, and the student and staff learning/working environment.
Our role thus far has been to draw input and feedback from our individual school communities and bring those perspectives in our role as advisors to the district. We couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to leverage our roles and bring transparency to the process than to represent our schools in the hiring of our district’s next leader.
We are very excited about the opportunity to partner with the school board on this important endeavor. Please feel free to reach out to any of us with questions.
With gratitude,
Keri Elmquist, At-large Parent Rep
Patrick Lang, Wildwood Elementary Parent Rep
Michelle McGilloway, At-large Parent Rep
Elizabeth Shook, Piedmont High School Parent Rep
Lindsay Thomasson, Havens Elementary Parent Rep
Linda Wendel, Beach Elementary Parent Rep
Keira Williams, Millennium High School Parent Rep
(Editor’s note: the Superintendent’s Community Advisory Committee was formed in January 2022 and is one of several committees advising the district, including the Facilities Steering, Budget Advisory, and Health and Safety.)
Good idea! The perception in the community over the years has been that the decision for promoting and hiring administrators is an “inside job” favoring past acquaintances from other nearby districts without the open and wide-ranging talent search we would expect to occur. Making sure the Advisory Committee is fully involved in the search and interview process will go a long way toward diminishing the prevalent skepticism in the community.