Leaders say superintendent turnover at N.M. schools hurting performance

Sue Cleveland watches the number of experienced state school superintendents decline every autumn during the get-togethers that introduce New Mexico's 89 district leaders to one another.

Cleveland, the de facto dean of state school superintendents — she has headed Rio Rancho Public Schools since its inception in the early 1990s — knows better than most how vital consistent leadership can be.

Without it, experts say it's more difficult for districts to improve student achievement and graduation rates, plus retain good teachers — all while keeping school boards and community members happy.

Stan Rounds, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition of Educational Leaders, has studied the revolving door in the superintendent's office and estimates two years is about the average tenure of New Mexico's top school leaders.

That's not good, he said.

"The district is going to be spearheaded more often than not by the superintendent," Rounds said. "Change that position out every two years, and it's very difficult to sustain long-term momentum. If you ran a corporation and changed its goal, its direction, every two years, I wonder how well it would do."

Rounds and Kurt Steinhaus, secretary of the state Public Education Department, said the state had 37 new superintendents at the start of the 2021-22 school year.

Steinhaus said that figure has dropped to 15 new superintendents in the current school year, but he recently told lawmakers on the Legislative Finance Committee turnover is a problem and the pool of superintendent candidates is shrinking.

"It is a concern," Steinhaus said in a recent interview.

Cleveland said a New Mexico superintendent recently told her about a question he was asked by a teacher that highlights the issue: "How long are you going to stay?"

"When you are turning over [a superintendent] every one or two years everyone ... thinks, 'This too shall pass,' so no one gets involved emotionally or culturally," she said. "You need three years [minimum] in place. Without that, it's hard to make change, and if you are not making change, you just keep this process of turning over superintendents year after year."

Educators, superintendents and board members agree rapid turnover of district leaders sows doubt and serves as an indicator districts are having a difficult time moving forward.

Rounds and others say Cleveland's tenure at Rio Rancho is a gold standard. Certainly, her service hasn't gone unnoticed: The district recognized her by naming its newest high school in her honor. Rounds also noted her ability to stay in the position has allowed her to build relationships with school board members, district employees and community partners — critical to long-term success.

The district of 17,300 students has a graduation rate of just over 87 percent — above the state average — and student proficiency rates far above most other districts in the state. Fifty-one percent of Rio Rancho's students are proficient in science, 45 percent in English language arts and 37 percent in math.

Steinhaus said Cleveland is "a good example of how stability in the leadership role has a positive impact on retention of teachers and principals, a positive impact on student achievement."

But for New Mexico's educational system, the question remains: Why aren't there more Sue Clevelands?

Delving into turnover

The turnover issue is not limited to New Mexico, though several national stories on the issue say very little in-depth analysis has been conducted to determine just how serious it is. Education Resource Strategies, a nonprofit, recently reported turnover among superintendents in the 100 largest school districts "is as high as it's been in the past seven years."

Though only one New Mexico district, Albuquerque, approaches the top 100 in size, turnover remains a problem even in New Mexico's smaller communities. Some factors are longstanding: relationship with school boards, training and salary levels. Others, observers say, are relatively new and include the pressures of dealing with COVID-19 and the need to meet court-mandated standards brought on by the historic Yazzie-Martinez lawsuit, which orders the state to do more to provide an equitable education for at-risk students.

New Mexico is still struggling to prove it is meeting those marks, a Legislative Education Study Committee official recently said.

The fallout from the pandemic, particularly in communities that balked at state-ordered school closures and remote learning, took a significant toll, Rounds said.

"That cost superintendents because some communities did not support those mandates and held superintendents accountable," said Rounds. "How do you get through all that?"

Finding a new breed

Those who've sat in a superintendent's hot seat say the new generation of school bosses must master what their predecessors learned — establishing a lasting connection to their school boards. But they acknowledge it's not always easy.

Eugene Schmidt, who headed the school districts in Los Alamos and Farmington for 13 years before his retirement, said the relationship between superintendent and board members is critical.

"The joke always was, 'Know everything about your board members, including the names of their pets,' " he said.

Steinhaus, who also served as superintendent at Los Alamos, said as a superintendent, he made sure he stayed in constant touch with his board members, including via a weekly Sunday update on district activities.

"It's all about relationships," he said before noting those connections must extend beyond elected officials and include community members, parents, educators and students. It's a heavy load that requires a superintendent being "out there everywhere — [it's] a challenge because there's only 24 hours in the day."

Kate Noble, president of the Santa Fe school board, acknowledged those connections go both ways, adding the district's five current board members "are very clear and trained that the superintendent runs the district."

Acknowledging the board has the right to fire a superintendent, Noble said: "I don't know what it's like to be a board member who becomes unhappy with a superintendent."

The man who holds the post at the moment, Hilario "Larry" Chavez, acknowledged there are times when boards and superintendents clash over issues such as new programing, restructuring programs within a particular school or closing a school against parental wishes.

But he said another factor pulling superintendents away from districts is the chance to move upward, onward or somewhere else where the pastures look greener — especially in a state where openings occur so often.

"Some are probably moving on to a new district, a higher paying district, maybe a higher [level] contract being offered," said Chavez, in his second year as head of Santa Fe Public Schools, which has had 10 superintendents since 1990. "There are a lot of variables going into it."

That includes salary. While Chavez earns $175,000 a year and Cleveland earns about $220,000 per year, the state Public Education Department says the average annual superintendent hovers around $120,000 per year. In some districts, superintendents make only marginally more than principals.

Joe Guillen, executive director of the New Mexico School Boards Association, said he has received numerous phone calls from school boards around the state this year, asking if they should raise the salaries of their superintendents in an effort to keep them onboard.

"Yes, absolutely," he said. "It does not make sense that a superintendent should have all that extra responsibility and earn just a small increment over principals."

Help with money, time

Then again, more money isn't always the answer. Many superintendents who work their way up through the ranks from educator to principal to superintendent may not know what they are getting into without a little help, said Veronica García, who headed the Santa Fe district twice.

Now working with Albuquerque-based Cooperative Educational Services, García is one of a team of former superintendents who provides training for those coming into the job. Tutoring includes guidance in building a budget, dealing with an audit, preparing a long-term strategic plan and handling difficult personnel issues, she said.

"Some of them have never done that before," García said.

Steinhaus said the Public Education Department is working to ensure such training continues and expands as needed. He said at the start of this school year, he connected experienced superintendents with first-year leaders in a mentorship relationship.

"That helps address the issue of burnout if you have someone to call — a superintendent who has been through it — for advice," he said.

Steinhaus also reached out by phone or in person to every superintendent in the state this year to ask them what he can do to help them succeed. He recalls his school board in Los Alamos asking him the same thing when he took the job there and said it made all the difference in the district's success.

Schmidt said there's another element that should come into play in the issue: "The gift of time. Allow your superintendent the gift of time."

Translation: Communities, school boards and district employees need to realize it's going to take a few years for a new superintendent to implement any new programs that move the district forward.

That space, he said, helps "build those relationships, capture the vision and translate that vision. ... That will lead to success."

Rio Rancho's Cleveland, who said she never intended to stick around for three decades, said time made all the difference. But she also has advice to those who've climbed to the top rung.

"Take a year and listen to what you need to do before you think you know all the answers and start rushing in," she said. "The dynamics in that new community may be very different from the community you just came from. Wait, listen and learn before you start making major changes."

She said the state has struggled with the problem for years, and its impatience has led to turnover.

"We have to find a way to address it," she said. "Without good leadership, you can't have good schools."