NUSD Race: Principal Turnover at Heron School

THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

SIXTH IN A SERIES

THE NATOMAS BUZZ invited the four candidates running for the Natomas Unified school board to participate in a series of articles wherein they answer questions submitted by readers. Today’s question asked,

“At Heron School there has been a revolving door of principals, with the longest principal lasting two years. What can you do to ensure or entice a principal to stay at Heron?” -Anthony Edmonds

Here are the answers submitted by the deadline, in the order they were received:

Jag Bains

JAG BAINS
Interest in the Principal position at Heron School has historically been high. Heron’s combination of engaged parents and teachers who deliver solid academic support and extracurricular activities to students has proven to be successful. Because of this success, District administrators have been able to select top-notch talent. The previous principal brought a strong resume to the job and was actively recruited by other School Districts who have always had an eye on Heron. Without a good team in place, even the strongest of leaders will burn out. The next Heron Principal should have the support of a new Campus Safety Specialist and a classified employee to provide office support. To attract and retain talented leaders and teachers, we need to provide competitive salary and benefits. We should explore merging our District with the risk pool of another local government employer to lower health insurance premiums for our employees.

Teri Burns

TERI BURNS
We’ve hired some excellent principals at Heron who’ve been promoted to new opportunities, and I wouldn’t want to see these professional’s opportunities limited. We are fortunate now to have a great principal who lives in the community and we think that will help motivate her to stay at our school. We recognized that we also need to be sure administrator salaries are competitive within the region so that we don’t lose good people in whom we’ve invested. I have supported the Superintendent’s efforts to ensure that site administrators have guidance and support from the district office so that principals don’t feel they are on their own to solve problems, balance site budgets and innovate. Having that support and coaching should help good individuals take on the challenges of leading a school site. Measure J should also allow us to make some of the facility upgrades that will make the job easier.

Lisa Kaplan

LISA KAPLAN
Although, the classroom teacher is the most visible person in your child’s life, a principal is responsible for creating an environment for school success. I know great principals take responsibility to build a strong school community. As a Board member, my goal is to hire the best and brightest leaders for our schools. Unfortunately, when you hire talent, sometimes they may take promotions because of their ability to lead and run a successful school. This was the case with Heron’s last two principals; both received promotions to further their careers. While, I completely understand the loss felt when a Principal leaves, I’ll always support a Natomas employee’s desire to advance their career. However, in order to recruit and retain talented leaders, my job as a board member is to make sure we provide our Principals with mentors/leadership coaches, professional development, and pay salaries competitive to our neighboring districts.