SULTAN – Al Robinson’s seventh year as superintendent of the Sultan School District will be his last.
The Sultan School Board will begin its search for a new leader in the next few weeks after it declined to extend Robinson’s contract.
“It’s important for the board to feel confident,” Robinson said. “I think they just felt it was time to give it another go … I’m fine with that.”
Typically, school district superintendents are given three-year contracts that are extended each year. The Sultan board opted not to extend Robinson’s contract each of the past two years.
“The superintendent’s job is a long list of things they are responsible for,” said Russ Sumpter, a school board member. “When you step back and look where our expectations are … performance didn’t meet expectations.”
District finances and student achievement were among the school board’s concerns.
“We aren’t doing the easiest thing,” Sumpter said, in looking for a new superintendent. “We are doing the right thing.”
Sultan has struggled to regain its financial footing after being cited by the state for budgets that posted deficits. It ended the last fiscal year with a small pot of savings after four years of red ink.
The district recently set its budget for the 2006-07 school year. Administrators expect to start the year with about $300,000 in savings, equal to 1.6 percent of the $18 million budget. The district hopes to bump up that reserve to 3 percent by the end of the year. The eventual goal is to keep savings equal to 5 percent of expenses.
Test scores across the 2,200-student district are typically among the lowest in Snohomish County. Early results from the most recent administration of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning show the district’s 10th-graders following state trends. Passing rates are poised to leap in reading and writing, with math posing more of a struggle.
Districtwide WASL passing rates in 2005 ranged from 26 percent in 10th-grade science to 77 percent in fourth-grade reading.
“We struggled through financial difficulties. We got that righted,” Robinson said. “We improved achievement, but not as fast as hoped.”
Robinson said he will look for another superintendent’s post. He has applied elsewhere in the last year without results.
“I think the people who put candidates in front of school boards are aware of me and my capabilities,” he said. “I expect they will promote me well.”
It is rare for a three-year contract to lapse, said John Fotheringham, a consultant on school superintendent searches in Washington.
“It’s sometimes hard to move on once you didn’t get your contract renewed,” he said. “It’s kind of a red flag.”
Nevertheless, Fotheringham described Robinson as “very capable.”
The district’s central office has seen a good deal of turnover in the past year. Three administrators retired, representing half of the small district’s leaders. A learning improvement position was not filled, with the duties taken up by others.
Herald reporter Melissa Slager contributed to this story.
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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