The Looking Glass: Superintendent Reflects on First Year

Punctuated by a controversial high school merger plan and unnerving statewide budget cuts to public education, it would be easy to see why Rob Glass' first year at the helm of Bloomfield Hills Schools was difficult.

But as the school year draws to a close, the longtime  Bloomfield Township resident -- who just recently moved to Birmingham -- said the challenges have been good for him and the community.

"We've had some issues to grapple with, but I think we've given residents a road map and we're sticking to it so they have confidence," he said.

Glass hopes that confidence is reaffirmed in the coming weeks as the school board is expected to decide how to fund and implement the first phase of high school consolidation between Andover and Lahser, which he emphatically supports.

District officials considered using $30 million in existing funds to begin construction of a consolidated school on the Andover campus, but it would require another $40 million from the public to complete. Voters in November turned down a $100 million bond proposal to construct a new, consolidated high school on the Andover campus.

On June 16, Glass will give a presentation and request board approval  to have a single high school on two existing campuses beginning in 2012. That would make next year's senior classes the final graduates under separate schools.

The district could manage with separate campuses, but not as efficiently or cheaply if 1,600 or students were under one roof, Glass said. 

"Can the district capture all the efficiencies it could with a combined high school in a 21st Century academic space? No. Is it the ideal solution? no. But it can be done and done well," he said. "We've just got to be clear whether we feel comfortable living with this."

The board will likely have to approve funding to make it happen by 2012, but at least the district won't be "spinning it's wheels," he said.

"At some point I've got to put shovels in the ground and get down to one high school, which makes sense," he said. "There's no mistake in my mind. We're just pumping and pumping money into the current situation to keep it floating and that can't go on for very long,"

Formidable opposition

District consultants estimate the complete merger could save roughly $2.5 million, which would help considerably manage a budget deficit projected at $6 million for next year, according to the budget passed earlier this month.

Opponents are now interpreting the November election results as a mandate to derail consolidation, he said. dominated much of his first year and is now at the forefront due to a recent recall effort launched by citizens against four board members.Glass won't comment on the prospects of a recall, and said that he understands and respects the resistance.

Glass said that he was hired, in part, to help handle this issue through his people skills. He honed those leading the Dexter School District near Ann Arbor for two years, where he helped implement new academic programs and a for improving technology and facilities.

He served as executive director for instruction for Birmingham Public Schools before becoming a superintendent finalist for multiple districts. 

He said he quickly went to work, meeting with community members and critics of the district, to understand their perspectives at coffee, lunch meetings and wherever he could get an audience.

"My strong suit is getting things done but realizing you have to make long-term connections with people and establish credibility with people," he said. "It doesn't happen fast."

Though he expected some opposition from prideful alumni and weary taxpayers, Glass admits the level of engagement from naysayers who use on-line forums, e-mail blasts and public meetings to organize caught him off guard. 

"What surprised me how much energy there was around the high school controversy and how vehemently some people had entrenched themselves in certain positions," Glass explained. "And how much emotional baggage around this issue that needed some time to heal."

Though critics have made compelling arguments to the contrary, Glass said, he believes the November vote was on a specific funding plan and not the concept of a single facility, which he called Bloomfield Hills High School.

The initiative is a cornerstone in the district's five-year deficit reduction plan and 2018 strategic plan.

Students at both buildings have a common schedule, roughly 300 are shuttled between buildings for courses, and Lahser teachers spend significant time teaching at Andover as well, he noted.

"We're essentially one high school on two campuses now," Glass said.

Tightening budget

While handling the district's internal strife over consolidation , Glass also navigated through a difficult budget process accelerated by staggering cuts in per-pupil funding and lingering economic malaise.

The district is expected to lose $3.4 million in revenue next year due to declining enrollment and cuts in state and Federal Stimulus funding. Hikes in health care costs and state-mandated retirement contributions are also factors that bring a projected $6 million shortfall in the 2011-12 budget, district reports show.

District Spokeswoman Betsy Erikson Brown said the board approved using equal shares of cost cuts and fund balance to comply with state law.

That includes a 5 percent pay cut for Glass, and a 2 percent pay cut to other administrative staff and non-union employees through furlough days. Unlike last year, the district will not shutter schools, but will consolodate central office staff in one location. The deficit prevention plan also calls for optimizing class sizes in K-8 grades and reduce high school courses with less than 18 students.

The board did not approve recommendations to cut 4th grade instrumental music and combine the Andover and Lahser orchestra bands.

Continuing to reduce costs without  dropping programs remains the goal, and the challenge for a district that prides itself on creativity and academic excellence, Glass said.

Despite the less-than-ideal start, Glass said he's still optimistic and excited about what the district still has to offer looking ahead to year two.

"We have to live in this environment but not kill our spirit of innovation," he said. "You can't go into any building in the district and not be inspired by the climate and the high level of learning going on."