The city school board has spent the past few weeks backgrounding superintendent candidates, but Tuesday night, they learned the district — as well as Columbus and its movers and shakers — had been equally scrutinized.
The first of three finalists for the position, Isaac “Ike” Leon Haynes Jr., was questioned in a public interview at the district’s Brandon Central Services, and the Prentiss native was quick to showcase his knowledge of the community, peppering his speech with people, places and facts gleaned while he backgrounded the area, trying to decide if he wanted to apply.
“I had to know all the ingredients for a top district were there,” he said after the meeting.
He began his interview by vowing to help Columbus achieve rank as a star district, the highest tier on the state department of education’s accountability scale. He spent Monday touring the district’s six schools and meeting administrators.
Haynes is currently serving his second term as the elected superintendent of Jefferson Davis County School District. His term expires January 2016.
During a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation, he detailed his goals if hired as well as the experience he has gained over the past four years managing Jefferson Davis County’s schools.
He painted a picture of a district in trouble when he took office in November 2007. It had just been taken over by the state for financial mismanagement, including misuse of more than $1 million in 16th Section funds. At his first board meeting, he learned the district’s fund balance had a deficit of $247,539.17.
For the next year and a half, Haynes worked alongside state-appointed Conservator Glenn Swann. By June 2009, the district was returned to local control with a fund balance of $1.45 million. The district’s current fund balance is $5.75 million.
A plummeting fund balance has plagued the Columbus Municipal School district for nearly a decade, with the district declaring shortfalls nine of the past 10 years.
Haynes said his district was able to incrementally fill its coffers by making sacrifices and being conservative with budgeting and spending. He also worked to keep personnel expenditures below 79 percent of the district’s total budget. Personnel accounts for 76 percent of CMSD’s budget.
The Jefferson Davis County district is considerably smaller, with less than 1,700 students compared to more than 4,500 in Columbus, prompting board member Jason Spears to ask what financial skills have equipped Haynes to operate CMSD’s $43.5 million budget.
But Haynes believes the small district, where 100 percent of the students receive free or reduced lunch, makes him “uniquely qualified” to lead CMSD.
“It comes down to making the right choices,” Haynes said. “I think it’s one of my strengths.”
One choice he doesn’t intend to make is accepting a pay cut — a hypothetical possibility floated by Spears during the hour-long interview that followed Haynes’ presentation.
In his current position, Haynes makes $115,000 including benefits. Former CMSD Superintendent Dr. Del Phillips was earning $154,400 when he left to take a position as Director of Sumner County Schools in Gallatin, Tenn.
‘Refuse to accept
mediocrity’
With the financials out of the picture, the board turned to academic success and daily student life.
The state Department of Education placed Haynes’ district on academic probation in 2008-2009, after growth standards were not met and state accountability models ranked the district at risk of failing.
The district remains on probation, but now is ranked successful. CMSD has been on academic watch for the past two years.
Haynes said he would focus on reading initiatives and data analysis to pinpoint where students are struggling and where they excel.
“From day one to day 50,000, I will refuse to accept mediocrity,” he said. “(Becoming a) star district will be the goal.”
He said he also believes in keeping good teachers and culling the system of instructors who will bring it down, adding that the test data shows everything he needs to know about what’s happening inside the classroom: Schools with good test scores tend to be schools with good principals and teachers.
“You don’t get to be a star district without star performance,” Haynes said. “I’m not looking to fire anybody. Be good to the children or be gone.”
Part of his plan for improving the quality of teaching includes increasing leadership capacity by making professional development available to all personnel.
There was a murmur in the crowd of teachers, administrators and local residents when board member Aubra Turner asked how he would end “the buddy buddy system” — a perceived climate of nepotism and favoritism — within the district.
Haynes acknowledged that during his brief stay in town and his tour of the schools, he had felt “an undercurrent of the good ol’ boy system,” and he vowed to eliminate it.
But the only way the district can improve is if the community buys into it, he said. He believes by accentuating the positive, and showing confidence, that will change.
‘Good schools make good communities’
Some of the board members’ questions focused upon how Haynes could change the student culture, from disciplinary action to mentorship.
His disciplinary plan calls for four steps: Teaching students self-discipline, taking preventative action, using corrective discipline and finally, resorting to suspension or expulsion when necessary.
“If students don’t feel safe, we might as well close the doors and go home,” he said. “Safe and orderly schools are paramount.”
Board member Currie Fisher attributed many student issues to lack of male role models, especially for young men, and she asked Haynes how he would solve that problem.
As superintendent, he could be a positive male role model, he replied, then said he has had success in his district with implementing programs like Omega Prep Youth Organization and Kappa League, a national organization which provides leadership and growth opportunities for young black men.
He also proposed bringing community leaders like Columbus Mayor Robert Smith into the schools to serve as principal for a day.
Another key element of keeping students out of trouble and engaged in school is maintaining and promoting school athletics, he said, noting the high graduation rate of student athletes.
“My fundamental belief is good schools make good communities and good communities attract high-paying jobs,” he said.
He concluded his interview by promising to be the most visible, most accessible, most involved superintendent the district has had in the past 24 years.
Community feedback
That impressed local resident Thomas Lee Sr., who was one of the 15 community members selected to offer feedback on Haynes’ interview.
“I thought he did an excellent job,” Lee said. “He presented well and did a lot of research.”
The research also impressed Rosalyn Hodge, president of the Parent-Teacher Organization at Columbus High School, especially when he referenced pockets of the city like Sandfield and Memphis Town.
“He seems to be a person who’s going to get out into the community and communicate,” Hodge said. “(The district needs) to get (itself) together. We need some motivation. We need to focus on student achievement and be more inclusive.” Haynes attended Zion Gate Missionary Baptist Church Sunday.
Board President Tommy Prude said he was pleased with the presentation.
“I was appreciative he did his homework and was very familiar with the area and well-versed in the community,” Prude said. “He’s a young, energetic individual.”
The next candidate, Dr. Pamela Taylor Henson, will be interviewed Thursday at 6 p.m. at Brandon Central Services. The final candidate, Dr. Martha Liddell, will be interviewed at 6 p.m. Friday.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.