Superintendent Candidate Interviews: Meet Carl Weiss

, superintendent for Romulus Community Schools, was one of three candidates interviewed Monday for the Royal Oak Schools superintendent position. About 20 parents and district administrators to listen in on the interviews before the Board of Education.

Why did you apply?

“I am not on a mandate to get out of town,” Weiss quipped. Weiss, 56, said he experienced some success in Romulus, but is looking for a capstone experience and a district with a different set of challenges. “Royal Oak has always been an interesting community to me,” he said, adding that the spirit and community involvement in Royal Oak makes him think he would be a good match for superintendent of Royal Oak Schools. “To me it is a very appealing district."

Budget process

Weiss said he has seen some of the district’s budget presentations, and he feels Royal Oak’s pain. When he came to Romulus, the district was in pretty dire straits, Weiss said. His first task was to implement cuts, and he said he needed to work with the board and administrative team to make sure everyone was on board with putting students first. That is easy to say, Weiss said, but the exercise meant really determining how to make sure hitting kindergarten through 12th grade instructional programming would be last. “What is it that we really want to hold sacred?” he said. Weiss said next, it is important to prioritize what would be cut. And, Weiss said, it is important to be open and honest through the entire process.

Collective bargaining

Weiss said building collaborative labor relations sometimes means agreeing to disagree. Weiss said he was chief negotiator in Dearborn Heights, honing his skills with smaller groups and building credibility. Weiss said it is very important to bring all the players involved into the situations, meeting regularly and defusing situations.

Promoting student achievement

A district needs to have a vision for student learning and it can’t be accidental – it needs to be by design, Weiss said. “I consider myself a teacher’s superintendent,” he said, adding he makes it his job to spend time in classrooms. Weiss saidnon-negotiable goals for him include student achievement and teaching and learning. Setting a non-negotiable goal to make progress on the gaps was huge in the Romulus district, he said.

Experience eliminating a program

Before his official start date as superintendent of Romulus schools, while attending a school board meeting Weiss was asked his thoughts on an intervention room program being considered for elimination. Weiss replied that he wasn’t sure it was good that students were going to this room for discipline and missing instructional time. The program was eliminated and Weiss said the district is now uses a positive behavior support program instead.

How do you define a well-rounded student?

A well-rounded student is someone who is not only academically, but also socially proficient, Weiss said. Weiss said he achieves this by making sure graduation is not a terminal experience, but a gateway experience. “Our job is to prepare them,” he said.

Supporting building administrators and teachers

Weiss said that in Romulus, the administration team is like the dream team right now. He said building that team requires defined autonomy and within that framework he really expects each team member to own his or her expertise.  

Drawing in nonschool community members

Weiss said he is involved in the Chamber and Rotary clubs, which is a good way to build a district’s relationship with the community. Weiss said the Rotarians have been great to the Romulus school district. The Romulus district also participates in a local-purchase policy, Weiss said. Letting businesses know how much the district spends locally is another way to build a connection with nonschool community members.

How would you spend your first 100 days on the job?

Weiss is a believer in the 90-day plan, which focuses on the importance of the first 90 days of superintendent employment. Weiss said he would have a preplan of Day One. He would spend time in Royal Oak before his first day, getting to know the people, seeing programs in the schools. In Romulus, he even rode the school bus to get to know the neighborhoods and bus riders. Weiss said he would research to make a perfect 90-day plan, involving input.

Tuesday's interviews:

• 6:15 p.m.: , superintendent of schools, Manchester Community School District.
• 7:45 p.m.: , superintendent of New Lothrop Area Public Schools.

The final round of interviews are scheduled for April 20 and 21 at the Royal Oak board of education office.

Members of the school community who have a question they would like addressed during the interview process are invited to fill out a comment card at the meetings this week.