COMMENTARY
by Scott Buttram, publisher
TRUSSVILLE — The search for the next superintendent of Trussville City Schools has ended with a walk-off homerun by BOE members. While the process wasn’t always smooth and arguably went into extra innings, it ended in a victory for Trussville at a time when winning has never been more critical.
Scott Buttram, publisher of The Tribune
Benching a high school principal and superintendent is never easy. Doing so just weeks into a new school year could have been devastating. Thanks to great leadership within the five TSC schools, the transition has gone better than expected and probably better than anyone could reasonably hope for. That’s a testament to the strength of the people who make up the faculty and staff at TCS.
It also speaks highly of the decision by the BOE to hire Dr. Frank Castanzo as interim superintendent. His ability as a communicator and his common sense approach of empowering good people to to their jobs was just what Trussville needed when we needed it most.
The BOE tagged the Alabama Association of School Boards to lead the search. Given the busy professional schedule of many board members, using an outside organization for the heavy lifting was a good call. Choosing not to limit their options to only the candidates provided by AASB was an even better call. Afterall, AASB had also led the Hoover City Schools’ superintendent search less than a year ago and it didn’t pan out. After conducting public interviews with the three AASB finalists, Hoover passed on all three and started over.
Sitting through all six superintendent interviews from inside and outside the AASB recommendations, I was struck by the quality of all six highly capable candidates. As a community, we owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. John Barge, Dr. Kevin Maddox, Dr. Bart Reeves, Mr. Tony Willis, Dr. Holly Sutherland, and Dr. Patrick Martin.
These aren’t average administrators. They are among the best, most highly successful in their field. For people of this quality to even consider moving to Trussville is humbling. As a citizen of this town and the father of an HTHS sophomore, I am deeply grateful to each of them for their interest in serving our community. We owe them all a debt of gratitude.
Martin did not submit a resume during the AASB search process. As appealing as he found the TCS superintendent position, the timing simply wasn’t right for his children. Most parents can probably relate. I know I can. When the timing improved, the TCS position was still open. At the urging of people inside and outside of Trussville, Martin sent in a resume. He wasn’t alone. Several resumes arrived outside of the AASB search. To the board’s credit, they reviewed every single applicant.
If the BOE’s stated goal – to hire the best person possible to lead Trussville City Schools forward – was true, they had no choice but to consider all options. The easiest path for board members would have been to put on blinders and rely completely on the AASB finalist recommendations. But our schools are too valuable, too important to the wellbeing of our city to take the easy way out. So they kept on working for our students, our teachers, our administrators, our city.
If the process seemed clunky at times, it’s worth noting that no BOE member in the history of Trussville City Schools has ever hired a superintendent more than once. Most have never even hired one at all.
While all of the finalists had outstanding resumes, Martin brought more depth and experience to the table. A three-time superintendent, his public interview also stood out as I’m sure his one-on-one conversations with board members probably did as well.
The treatment of special needs students is an area where TCS must improve. As a superintendent, Martin has administrated special needs cases. More importantly, Martin is the father of a special needs student. Our most vulnerable students and families deserve a strong advocate. I believe they have found one in Patrick Martin.
For me, there was something else that jumped off of Martin’s resume. It swayed me.
Growing up in Tuscaloosa, Coach Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant’s words were part of my lexicon. I hung on them and looked for ways to apply them in my life.
Coach Bryant once famously said, “I don’t hire anybody not brighter than I am. If they’re not smarter than me, I don’t need them.”
Of 32 applicants for the Vestavia Hills City Schools superintendent position, Martin was one of two finalists. Ultimately, the nod went to Dr. Todd Freeman. In short order, Freeman turned around and hired Martin as Assistant Superintendent. That is uncommon.
Certainly it speaks highly of Freeman’s leadership style and confidence. But it also tell us that Freeman saw something in Martin, job rival or not, that he wanted on his team. Whatever Freeman saw, I’m ready to see in Trussville.
To all that applied for this job, on behalf of a grateful city, thank you.
To the TCS BOE members who persevered instead of taking the easy way out, thank you.
To Patrick, Taren, Ryleigh, Jackson, Tyson, and Treyson Martin, thank you for choosing Trussville. Welcome home.
Scott Buttram is the publisher of the award winning Tribune. You can reach him at Scott.Buttram@TrussvilleTribune.com and follow him on Twitter @ScottButtram.
