New Fort Smith Schools Superintendent releases 90-day entry plan

Fort Smith Public Schools (FSPS) Superintendent Dr. Doug Brubaker has released his 90-day entry plan. The 8-page document was uploaded to the district’s website on Monday, Jan. 23, and announced to the public at the evening school board meeting.

Brubaker listed four objectives for the 90-day plan that would include establishing a “collaborative relationship” with the school board; developing an understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, growth areas, challenges, and opportunities within FSPS; building relationships with students, teachers, parents, administrators, staff members, local leaders, state officials, and the Fort Smith community; and aligning efforts of his administrative team to address the most urgent and important priorities while supporting/updating the district’s strategic plan accordingly.

“Guided by an entry plan, leaders set a positive tone, clarify expectations, build trust, and establish positive working  relationships. Creating these positive conditions helps to keep the focus of the district on meeting the needs of students and builds momentum for positive change,” Brubaker said in the introduction of his plan, adding that the plan is not set in stone but will be “revised to reflect feedback.”

Each of the four objectives are present throughout the plan’s three phases, which include a 30-day “transition phase”; a 30-day “entry phase”; and a 30-day “planning phase.” Brubaker’s document shares a total of 54 bulleted items that offer concrete examples of what the district and community can expect from each phase. (Link here for a PDF of the plan.)

The transition phase will include meeting one-on-one with each Board member as well as stakeholders from the community, including Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders, City Administrator Carl Geffken, City Directors, school principals, the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, teacher association groups, the Fort Smith Council of PTAs, and numerous civic groups and non-profit agencies. Brubaker will also review professional development plans, Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) report cards for each of the district’s 29 schools, budgets, audit reports, and campus/district improvement plans.

Some of those meetings will carry over into the entry phase, during which Brubaker will also meet with the FSPS finance team to review 2016-2017 budgets and forecast for the year ahead. He is also hoping to use this phase to “open dialogue with legislators about the outlook for school finance.” This portion of the plan will last from the midpoints of February through March. The 2017 legislative session runs through March 31.

For the final planning phase, Brubaker hopes to synthesize findings from the first 60 days and present a final long-range plan to the School Board by mid- to late April. Brubaker is also expected to be the face of the district’s millage push.

“Resources have grown some because of higher valuations on property, but the district has had the same millage rate for about 30 years,” he told Talk Business & Politics in a previous interview, adding that he wants Fort Smith to be “a destination district so that when people move to this area, they see it as somewhere they want to locate, and that is something businesses look at as well when they consider coming here.”

As part of the proposed millage increase, the district hopes to address renovations on at least five buildings, including construction of tornado shelters at Southside and Northside High Schools as well as continued technology improvements across all schools.

Longtime former Superintendent Dr. Benny Gooden retired in April 2016 after which Assistant Superintendent Dr. Gordon Floyd took over day-to-day Superintendent responsibilities as Board members searched for a replacement. Floyd will continue to be paid at the higher salary ($210,000 per year) and fulfill the daily operations responsibilities of the Superintendent while Brubaker earns the same rate of pay as he learns the district and develops his long-term strategic plan. School Board President Dr. Deanie Mehl clarified at the recent school board meeting the district was coming out “$70,000 ahead” from the move as Floyd filled both Assistant Superintendent and Superintendent positions from Gooden’s retirement through the end of the 2016-2017 School Year. Essentially, the district did not have to pay for an Assistant Superintendent during the candidate search period.

Brubaker was hired by a unanimous vote of Fort Smith School Board members on Dec. 15, 2016 and started work on Jan. 18. The full plan is available at this link.