BHCW Position Statement on Mr. Nixon’s Three Month Tenure as Acting Superintendent
Over the past three months, Mr. Nixon has shown himself to be a capable Superintendent. He has been part of a six-month whirlwind that has been a golden age of transparency and change for the District. In partnership with the Board of Education, the District has accomplished the following:
(1) A significantly more open and family-informed Superintendent Search Process.
(2) A Budget process that involved more meetings, a survey instrument, and the availability of Budget.
(3) BOE Committee Meeting Minutes are posted on the website – increasing community awareness of Board decision-making behind closed doors while reducing the District’s OPRA burden.
(4) Remote participation is now available during BOE meetings, allowing families to share their feedback while at home.
(5) While he did not necessarily agree with the Transportation change, the District now has one of the most (if not the most) affordable subscription busing programs when compared to similar schools. The criteria surrounding the District’s transportation services are also crystal clear.
(6) The District’s legal representation is far less political and adversarial.
(7) With the exception of Ms. Stanley and Mr. Hyman who have a habit of snickering when they hear reasonable comments they disagree with during meetings, the overall response to the public is far more professional.
(8) There have already been three more BOE Meetings in the past six months than the first six months of the prior year – all with full Agendas. Evidence of an Administration and a Board that wants to work and wants to do it’s work in the public eye.
(9) There is finally an acknowledgement of a “Math Problem” within the District and while the Math Presentation during the last BOE Meeting had many holes, the District has taken concrete steps to improve the situation and we are starting to see signs of a turn-around.
Mr. Nixon is proving to be a reasonable and comfortable choice for a District that just wants to get back to the business of educating students without the circus acts of poorly researched initiatives and bad policies being approved one after another. In contrast to last year, the Policy Committee has been held accountable more than it has ever been in the last 10 years – with more proposed changes being questioned and voted down than has occurred in recent history. Mr. Nixon is also proving to be a good fit for the new Board of Education, the majority of whom ran on platforms connected to transparency and evidence based decision making.
There are still improvements that need to be made:
(1) The budget needs to reflect Academic priorities – we still have the highest per pupil cost out of the six other Districts on the Dashboard. We spend more per pupil on Administrative lines and Athletics – we need to see more robust investments in Math and Science.
(2) Middle School Math and Science needs to be addressed quickly and with clarity.
(3) The same effort made to improve our Math proficiency Scores need to occur with Science.