Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.

All right, good morning. How are you guys? My name is Chris Clark. I’m the acting superintendent here in Leander ISD.

I have been since last Thursday, was it this is my third full day in this position, so just remember that when you’re asking me these tough questions. All right, so before we move on, let me know your names and where you’re in school right now. I know you’re at Cedar Park.

I’m Skyler. I’m on the newspaper nearby class. Okay, did you email me? Somebody from Cedar Park emailed me.

I think that was Jack. Okay, thanks. All right, yes.

I’m Sophia. I’m from Leander, and I’m also the yearbook editor. Okay, let’s go back here.

I’m Nolan, and I’m from Rouse, and I’m a yearbook editor. Yearbook editor. Do you know Zoe Clark? Yeah, we talked to her yesterday.

She stopped by and said hi. You know I’m related to her. Yes, we didn’t know that.

She didn’t tell you things like insight on the right. She didn’t know. All right, she was the editor at Rouse last year, my niece.

Okay, great. All right, so I’m Jack. I’m the associate producer for the broadcast program at Cedar Park High School.

Okay, we’ve got Rouse, Leander, and Cedar Park here. And the ghost of Glenn will be asking some of their questions. Yes, they’re here with us right now.

All right, so let me just tell you a little bit about myself before we jump into questions. All right, so I have been in Leander for two and a half years. I came here at the beginning of the 23-24 school year as the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction.

About one year ago, to this day almost, I was hired as the deputy superintendent of learning and innovation. And then I was in that role up until last Thursday night and now I’m acting superintendent. Before coming to Leander, I worked in Frisco ISD in the Dallas area, if you’re familiar with that area.

I worked as a middle school principal. I worked in their central office there as well. And then I’ve been, I was a principal for most of my career at elementary and middle school level.

I think I was a principal for 17 or 18 years. I used to know, I can’t remember the number now. And of course before that, I taught.

That’s been a long time ago. So that’s a little bit about my background. My wife is a teacher in Leander ISD as well at Blockhouse Creek Elementary.

She’s a first grade teacher. If you go to Blockhouse in the Dallas area, nope. I have two kids and one at the University of Arkansas.

And then my oldest, my son, just graduated from college. And he’s an engineer in Seattle, Washington. So it’s just a little bit about me.

If you have specific questions that you want to ask, we’re happy to jump into those now. Is that good? Yeah. All right.

I’ll go right ahead. What was your initial reaction to learning that you got the position of interim superintendent? So if you were there, you know that I actually moved seats. So it was kind of interesting, like the technical side of it.

But of course I was super excited that the board had faith in me to lead this school district through the next several months as we transitioned to a new superintendent. So there was kind of that feeling of being honored that somebody would bestow that trust on within me. And just excited at the opportunity to continue the work I already do, but in a different way.

Did you ever expect to take on a role in this or imagine what it would be like? Yeah, that’s a good question. So I have for the last five-ish years wanted to, I’ve had that desire to eventually be a superintendent. I’ll be honest that I wasn’t anticipating this exactly on this timeline, but when Dr. Gearing decided to retire and I was, you know, given this opportunity and you got to take that chance or take that opportunity when it comes to you, even though it wasn’t exactly what you planned.

So yeah. Yes, sir. So what got you into education, like your whole journey? Yeah, great question.

So I’ve always liked helping people in general. And growing up in church, as like a high school student, I started helping out with younger kids on Sundays or in like vacation Bible school, if you’re familiar with that. And so some people told me that, you know, hey, you’re kind of good at this, like you’re pretty good at, you know, helping, you know, run games and different things like that.

And so I got a lot of enjoyment out of helping people and it was something that I was interested in. It led to something that took to me pursuing education. Once I became a teacher, I just kind of thought I would be a teacher.

And I had a principal come and approach me once and said, you know, you should get your master’s degree so you could eventually be a principal someday. And I had never really thought of that. And so that that principal seeing that potential in me was really important and kind of set me on this course.

And again, I was a principal for a long time and really thought that’s what I would just do for the rest of my career. And again, another leader in Frisco tapped me on the shoulder and said, you could look at maybe moving up and being an assistant superintendent or leading programs of some kind at the central office level. So I think the initial move in this direction was about helping people, but then the different changes was because somebody saw things in me and encouraged me to do that.

So I taught like just third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, and then I taught middle school social studies in all three grades as well. Middle school is my favorite, honestly. Yes, sir.

Awesome. So previously, you mentioned about your like past experiences. And so specifically, how do you believe that those like previous experiences have helped prepare you for this new position? Man, you guys have great questions.

So what I didn’t tell you is while I was in college, I worked as an instructional assistant, they were called paraprofessionals at that time. And when I did that, I worked in a special education classroom with students with pretty significant needs. And one of those students really had trouble getting to school on the bus.

And so they asked me if I would be willing to get a commercial driver’s license and drive a bus so this student could not get in trouble on his other bus. And I did that. And so where I’m going with this to answer your question is, I’ve done so many different jobs in a school district.

I was a bus driver, I was an instructional assistant, teacher at multiple levels, principal at multiple levels, assistant principal. I bring all that with me into this role, but even my previous roles. So understanding the work that those that those individuals do day in and out, I think it makes me a better leader.

Now, it’s been a while since I’ve done those things. But you can pull off of those memories and have empathy and some understanding with everybody that works within the district. Of course, I feel like I do have an ability to connect and understand kids.

Those of you all are the most important people in our organization. But from a leadership and a work perspective, I do have those experiences that I can draw upon to understand. And I’m married to a first grade teacher.

She gives me a lot of great feedback on a daily basis. That’s what we’ll call it. Yes ma’am, right here.

As acting superintendent, what are your top priorities for keeping stability on campuses during this transition? Keeping stability? Yes. So I would say, did you say my top priorities? Yes. So you know that we, or you may not know, I’m sure you do though, that we are currently experiencing a budget, like we have a budget deficit coming our way that we have to remedy.

So the goal of not just mine, but everybody in this district, is to minimize the impact of any reductions we make on the student experience. So whatever decisions we have to make to reduce the amount that we spend, we want to make those in such a way that it minimizes that impact to the smallest number, but in the least impactful way also. I think also just stability for our district as a whole during this transition, from like a global perspective, that we’re going to keep focused on student learning, meeting staff needs, while we go through this transition so that they’re not nervous or worried about what’s going to happen, what will happen in the meantime, if that makes sense, yeah.

I think she had one, then you can go next, yes? So you were just appointed last Thursday, what comes next for you in the next couple of weeks? It’s a good question. So we have a board meeting this Wednesday that we’re prepping for, and then starting to meet with board members to prepare for upcoming meetings centered around that budget process. Those are the big priorities, but even more so than that, I think the biggest priority is what I just spoke to this young lady about, was helping everybody feel that our organization is stable, and that we’re not losing our focus, that our priority is still students and their learning, and just I think through actions, making everybody feel that sense of security and stability is the number one priority, but from a technical standpoint, it’s prepping for all those budgetary things as well, yeah.

Thank you. This gentleman, and then you can go next, yes? Alright, so I know you just talked about like your budget plans and like keeping the stability, but what is your personal like biggest obstacle or fear you have coming into your position? My biggest fear or obstacle? So I think it’s, I would love to be able to find like a magic bullet where we could remedy this deficit and kids never know the difference. I know that’s not a reality, so my biggest concern is that somehow decisions that we make negatively impact any student in any way, but primarily their learning, and so I carry that, you know, in your heart, so you remember that with every decision that you make.

It will impact things, but I think we can do it in such a way that we prevent drastic impact, that kids lose opportunities or access to services that they need in some way, so that’s my concern, but also my goal is to not have that become a reality, if that makes sense. Thank you. You talked a little bit about how much you care about the students in the district and the teachers in the district.

Why in turn should students and teachers care that you’re our new acting superintendent? You know, I would say as a student, I had no idea who the superintendent was when I was in high school or middle school, right? Really, as a teacher, I didn’t know much about that, the work at that level. Now that I’m at this level and having been at those levels, I think it’s important for you to know when I make a decision or a recommendation to our board for a decision, there are impacts to you, and I think it’s important for students to know that so you can come and advocate for what your needs are or communicate to us in such a way that we know what is most important to you in school. Now, you guys are reasonable, I’m sure there has to be some, you know, reasonable aspect to what you’re requesting with, you know, we deal with a limited budget, etc., but if something is important to you on your day-to-day experience or even for younger students, being able to communicate that to us is important and knowing who you communicate that to.

So, there are decisions that I can make that can positively impact you or negatively impact you, so of course my goal is to only make decisions that positively impact you, but you need to know that who your leader is of your organization so you can understand what they’re doing and how, you know, and influence it quite honestly. You mentioned talking to the board and making a recommendation and I know that many students and families are closely watching the school consolidation discussion. What role will you play in guiding that process and that discussion while serving as acting superintendent? Yeah, so that’s a good question, too.

So, coming in as acting superintendent just last Thursday, it’s a very unique situation. So, while I have been involved in some of the prior discussions, my role now is different. So, I think where we are now is providing information to the board so they can make the best decision that they can.

It’s helping them understand all the various aspects of what different decisions could mean. If you make a decision to consolidate here, here’s what it does, here’s how it benefits us, and here are kind of some of the negative impacts of that decision. That way they make a, they should not be making any decision without being informed and it’s our job to inform them and provide all that information, not only to the board but to our community as well.

Even though the community doesn’t make the decision, they need that information as well. So, previously some parents in LISD have expressed frustration with communication regarding school consolidations. How would you respond to this and how would you plan to address this? So, I think my initial reaction is I hate that any parent or anybody in our community feels that frustration.

I won’t say that it’s not legitimate because if that’s how they feel, that’s how they feel. So, my response would be to find out specifically why they feel that way, what information they do or don’t have that they may need, and try to provide that to them within reason, our goal, and we feel like we operate in a very transparent, open, and honest way. I definitely know what you just asked about, that there are some people who don’t believe that to be the case and so you know, the best thing you can do is is act in a way that that helps rectify that for them, if it’s possible.

What is the timeline and process for selecting the next permanent superintendent? You know, I’m not, I do not know. That is a board process and decision. They’ll work with our Human Resources Office.

Right now, I do not know what that timeline and process will be. Boards take a variety of different approaches. Some use a search firm, some do not.

It can just depend on what their needs are. Gearing announced his retirement on Monday and you were appointed on Wednesday and that’s a very quick turnaround. How is the district helping to support you through this period? How is the district helping to support me? I would say, as acting superintendent in the transition, a lot of the support is coming from the board.

So, they selected me and they clearly have a lot of trust and confidence in my ability, but they also know that that requires them to communicate with me. In fact, when I came down here, I was just meeting with individual board members. So, the support of their time and letting me know their thoughts, their concerns, what their expectations are of me.

It was timely that we had our board retreat right after Thursday’s meeting. So, we spent Friday night and all, most of Saturday together talking through some of those things that enables a more seamless approach to leadership. So, the superintendent definitely works right alongside that board together and so we were able to establish that and get moving.

In terms of internally from other district administrators, my role is deputy superintendent of learning and innovation. So, my primary responsibility was everything related to learning and everything related to school. So, all of your principals have an area superintendent that supervises them and guides and coaches them.

There are four of them. So, those four area superintendents and then we have four assistant superintendents that oversee all of the teaching and learning department. Those were the eight people that I supervised.

So, it’s all learning, everything school related, minus athletics and fine arts. So, those folks are stepping in to help pick up some of the things that I won’t be able to do while I’m acting superintendent. So, that’s a level of support internally.

We have administrative assistants in this building that help organize and basically like run my day for me. So, there’s several of them that are helping me keep keep focus so that my time is used very efficiently. So, Gearing was one of the highest paid superintendents in the state of Texas.

Are you taking on that same salary as him? If not, where is the district planning to put that extra money that was taken out of the salary? So, I could not tell you. I do not know what his salary was, honestly, right off the top of my head. So, because I am acting superintendent, the way the district is paying me is through a stipend that supplements my existing salary that was already in place before.

So, kind of holding down some parts of my previous job and getting some additional pay for being acting superintendent as well. I do not know why that was. I have not had a chance to talk to Mr. Gauthier about his dissent, but I’d be happy to hear any of his feedback and anything that I can do to help, you know, remedy any concerns he had.

I don’t want to speculate what it was. He may have not been about concern. He may have just had a different idea.

We have talked about other things briefly, but have not had a chance to talk about that. As acting superintendent, what decisions do you have the full authority to make? I mean, there’s a lot of decisions. So, maybe if I tell you what I can’t do on my own, it might be easier.

So, like the board, like you guys brought up the consolidation of schools. All the administration can do is provide information and potentially a recommendation. It just depends on how it plays out, but a superintendent cannot determine to close down the school.

We do a lot of work with the budget and we bring information to the board, but the board approves the budget. And so, I think just about anything outside it, so the board approves a budget and they make some of those decisions. They approve policy.

I can’t put policy in place. Of course, the board hires the superintendent, so I can’t, I don’t get in, I can’t and don’t get involved in what that process is or make any recommendations there. In terms of singular decisions, believe it or not, there isn’t, there’s not a lot, you know, like, if you think of hiring more or make an decision to not bring somebody back in their position, those are usually done by somebody in a different role that works directly with those particular people.

Being a superintendent’s more about leadership and vision and keeping the organization focused on the right things, as opposed to those more technical type decisions. We probably have time for just a couple more questions. You said the superintendent can make a recommendation to the board regarding school consolidation.

Do you plan on making that recommendation? So, right now, it’s there, what we are attempting to do, well y’all are asking good ones. Because of the nature of my being appointed as acting superintendent, it’s better to work closely with the board members to develop, you know, what is the right direction to go and let them make their decision. So, if state funding remains stagnant, what is the next lever to pull if current cuts are enough to reach a balanced budget? Would that be more staffing cuts or something similar to that? So, I think it’s 80 to 85 percent of our budget is staffing.

So, when we’re gonna reduce significant amounts, the only way to do that is through staff. So, if you, if we’re gonna reduce a significant amount, I think our shortfall, our deficit is around 13 million dollars. Is that the right number? Yeah.

So, that significant amount, it does come with staff reductions and position reductions. Now, what we try to do is minimize the impact on people, utilize vacancies. You know, we, I think it’s two to three hundred people just naturally leave every year and we usually hire those.

But, when we’re reducing positions, we try to handle all those lost positions through attrition, so that no person that wants to stay here and keep working actually loses their job. Probably time for one more question. What qualities or experience is the board looking for in the next superintendent? I think you really have to ask the board about that.

I know some of their areas of focus is on improving the way we work as a professional learning community in our district. That is a priority for them right now. And then, I think they just want a superintendent that will provide leadership and keep the organization focused on student learning.

But, specifics other than that would probably be better asked from them. Thank you guys so much. You guys did a great job.

Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.