It's October in Nebraska. The combines are rolling, the flannels are out, and the Huskers are deep enough into the season that we've all formed opinions. (Editor's note: we will not be discussing those opinions here. You can't make us relive the trauma. Our predictions are here. But how do you lose the last 2 games? Speaking of time to evaluate…) It's also the time of year when good coaches make halftime adjustments, and your board should be making a few of its own because superintendent evaluation season is officially here.
If you hired a new superintendent this year, you may already be on the clock. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-828, a probationary superintendent must be evaluated twice during the first year of employment and at least once a year after that. Check your superintendent’s contract and policies to determine when the evaluations should occur.
Veteran superintendents are equally deserving of a timely, helpful evaluation. Most contracts we draft require the superintendent to remind the board of the annual evaluation by the regular November meeting and require the evaluation itself at or before the regular December meeting. Your contract may set different dates, so check it.
Whatever the timeline, Rule 10 requires your board to use the evaluation instrument on file with the Nebraska Department of Education. Somewhere in your district office there's a folder labeled "Supt Eval" that was last opened during the Osborne era. Find it. If you can't, NDE can send you a copy. If what you find turns out to be an evaluation built for classroom teachers, now is the time for a change. (And no, you can't automatically go into closed session to talk about the results. That's another blog post.)
Why It's Worth Doing Right
Superintendent turnover is disruptive, and it is often preventable. Longer superintendent tenure is linked to higher student achievement, better staff retention, and stronger community support. Yet the leading causes of turnover aren't scandals. They are unclear expectations and inconsistent communication between the board and the superintendent. The evaluation is where your board tells its coach what winning looks like to them (proverbially speaking), in writing, while there is still time to adjust the game plan. The trouble is that most administrators spend years learning how to evaluate teachers. Board members get a form and a deadline.
Enter the KSB Superintendent Evaluation Module
This is the part where we shamelessly plug our own product, because we actually think it will help everyone involved. We built the Superintendent Evaluation Module because we got tired of watching good board–superintendent relationships fumble on the goal line. It gives your board a structured, transparent process built on research and informed by the same legal and practical expertise we bring to your district every day. It’s designed with the “I’ve never really done evaluations, at least not of a school superintendent” conundrum in mind. Board members complete the rubric individually, online, on their own time, and emerging research shows evaluations are more comprehensive and objective that way compared to completing the evaluation at the board meeting. The result is an evaluation that's consistent, fair, and focused on meaningful growth, not guesswork or whatever happened at last month's meeting.
The catch? Your board needs time to preview and adopt the instrument, and it has to be on file with NDE before you use it. If you adopt it at your November meeting, it's ready for December's annual evaluations and second-semester evaluations for first-year superintendents. Email us at ksb@ksbschoollaw.com for a demo or with any questions.