Dr. Scott A. Anderson

Scott Anderson, Fort Collins Country Club Senior Division

Scott Anderson, Fort Collins Country Club

Board President Scott Anderson said trustees felt it was "very important" that the new superintendent have an opportunity to form his/her own core team.

"We look for his administration to come in and hit the ground running," Anderson told the Champaign News-Gazette."He needs people familiar with what his goals are."

Scott Anderson Superintendent:

Dr. Scott A. Anderson Superintendent

Board President Scott Anderson said the board was most impressed with her record in Kalamazoo, Mich., where she was superintendent from 1996 to 2000. When she started there she said only about 17 percent of black students and 40 percent of white students in the fourth grade were reading at the proficient level, according to state tests.Three years later, she said, percentages of black students at proficient were in the 60s and white students in the 80s.

Board President Scott Anderson also cautioned the community that accomplishing the goal of closing the achievement gap will take some significant changes that not everyone will agree with."As board members, we're prepared and the community needs to be prepared," Anderson said.Teachers union President Greg Novak said Culver has expressed a greater willingness to work with faculty on creating those changes than the other finalists he met.
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Anderson expected Culver to sign the contract in the next couple of days.
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Anderson said he hoped the new superintendent would help the district quickly address the same issues as the charter school and raise the achievement of black students."Based on what (the new superintendent has) done, we could accomplish changes in-house without siphoning off time and resources," he said.Over its first five years, the charter school would cost the district more than $1 million.With the rejection, the charter school can now resubmit its appeal to the state board of education.

Other stories appearing in the online edition of Tuesday, April 9, 2002:

Rantoul, service center reach tentative deal

The board has 30 days to vote, and Board President Scott Anderson said that would happen, at the latest, during the next regular meeting on April 8.
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"You can't look at the numbers and feel the status quo is acceptable," Anderson said."All of us feel that way."Many of the school board's concerns about the charter school have centered on money.In the first five years of operation, it would cost the district about $1.2 million, and about 90 Champaign students would attend.Speakers tried to convince the board that the charter school would help more than just those few students.

Board President Scott Anderson expects the board to approve a contract with Arthur Culver, now the superintendent in Longview, Texas, at tonight's regular board meeting at 7 p.m. at the Mellon Administrative Center, 703 S. New St.
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"Our primary qualification was someone with a proven record in closing the achievement gap by improving achievement for all students, and someone who has a proven ability in working various segments of the community," Anderson said."Everything we checked showed he had those talents."Longview, about 120 miles east of Dallas, is similar to Champaign, with a population of about 77,000.The school district has about 8,500 students with a diverse population – about 50 percent black, 32 percent white and 17 percent Hispanic.Longview district has 11 elementary schools, three middle schools and one high school.Because of the similarities, Claire Deal, who served on the community interview panel, said she thought that Culver would be a "good fit" for the district."He has experience with the things we need to deal with," she said.