Board wants schools chief to live within district lines
Some members of the Columbus Board of Education want at least one thing to change when they select a new superintendent: That person should live within the city school district, which outgoing Superintendent Dan Good does not.
Columbus superintendents and even other high-ranking administrators had a history of paying property taxes back into the district that pays them, but the board never asked that of Good, who lives in Powell in the Olentangy Local School District.
In 2013, when Good accepted the offer to be the temporary superintendent under a one-year contract, residency wasn’t an issue. Nor was it when, half a year later, his position became permanent under an extended contract.
That appears about to change. The subject of residency surfaced during a school board presentation
Wednesday on the national search for Good’s replacement.
Board member Ramona Reyes said she attended several community meetings on the hire and there was a strong public preference that the new superintendent live in the district.
“The words ‘strong,’ ‘strongly preferred’ or ‘no other option’ were the words I heard,” Reyes said, adding that she would use the word “required.”
But is it legal for a public employer in Ohio to require an employee to live in its taxing district? Yes, but only if that employee is a school district superintendent, said Tom Ash, director of governmental relations with the Buckeye Association of School Administrators.
“It’s actually in the Ohio Revised Code,” and took effect in 2008, Ash said. And it doesn’t say that a superintendent has to be a new hire, raising the possibility that a school board could compel a longtime superintendent to move, Ash said.
Board Member Mary Jo Hudson felt it might not make sense for regional candidates who already are established in their homes. Member Eric Brown asked if
the requirement would make some percentage of top candidates drop out.
“I honestly don’t think many,” replied Alan Leis, a consultant hired by the board to find candidates. “Most superintendents want to live in the district to begin with, because it doesn’t send a good message if you don’t.”
Asked if his chosen address is sending a bad public message, Good said he didn’t participate in the community meetings on the new superintendent and doesn’t know how important district residency is to the community.
“I imagine to some members of our community that would be important,” Good said. “I don’t think ultimately it impacts the way (superintendents) perform, the responsibilities or the role. I mean, I think I lived here more than I lived in my own home, frankly.”
The board finally agreed to change the requirement that candidates must have a “willingness” to live in the district to the following: “The successful candidate is expected to live in the district.”
Is that clear enough? The board will find out in late January, when it’s scheduled to end its search by making someone an offer.