School board approves Doyle's contract

PALMER -- Chief School Administrator Bob Doyle lost something at Wednesday's school board meeting: the word "Interim" from his job title.

The Mat-Su Borough School Board voted unanimously to approve Doyle's contract Wednesday evening. The contract goes for one year, through June 2004, and pays Doyle a gross salary of $108,176.

While the decision to appoint Doyle to the position has been somewhat controversial, the board appeared to have little difficulty coming to a consensus. School board president Mike Chmielewski said, "In my impression, the board felt that from a practical standpoint, it made sense. We have confidence in him."

At Wednesday's meeting, Chmielewski presented a memo to board members regarding questions from some in the community asking whether Doyle is qualified for the position. One person spoke against Doyle's appointment during the Persons To Be Heard portion of the meeting, and a handful of Letters to the Editor have addressed the subject in this newspaper, criticizing Doyle.

However, the district maintains that Doyle is indeed qualified for the job.

State statutes used to mandate that school superintendents possess a Type B Certificate with a Superintendent Endorsement. To receive the certificate, a person had to have a Master's degree, have completed a teacher education program and have at least three years' experience as a certified teacher. The endorsement also required one year of administrative experience.

However, as Chmielewski's memo pointed out, the state now provides an option for districts to appoint a Chief School Administrator (CSA). Under that option, the CSA must still hold the certificate if they are going to have oversight over employees who hold certificates, or if they are to be in charge of planning and development of the district's educational programs. However, the school board appointed Assistant Superintendent of Instruction George Troxel to carry out those functions in November of last year, when it appointed Doyle as Interim CSA.

District Public Information Officer Kim Floyd pointed out that Troxel's position is one that existed before Doyle's appointment, and said Troxel is merely carrying out normal duties.

Chmielewski said the board did advertise for an interim CSA within the ranks of district employees. Doyle was chosen from those respondents, he said, and it was on the basis of his performance as interim CSA that the board decided to offer him the one-year contract.

During his time as interim CSA, Doyle has had to deal with a budget crisis, the lay-off of several district employees, a Curriculum Audit that was critical of the district, and other tough issues. Doyle has often been the brunt of personal attacks during public testimony -- last week he was accused of viewing students and staff not as people but as liabilities and line items in the budget.

Doyle said sometimes such comments hurt, but "after time, I think you develop a thick skin."

Nevertheless, he said, "I do care. I care a great deal. I wouldn't be here if I didn't feel I was doing the right thing. I would love to have the revenue to say yes [to all items in the budget] and make everybody happy … I guess I can't just wish those cuts away."

Doyle said he deals with the stress by "focusing on doing what I believe in," and sometimes, "I have to spend some time at the fitness center," he said.