Phila. searching for school system CEO

The Philadelphia School District held the first of three public hearings yesterday to find its first-ever chief executive officer. A new state law, Act 46, mandated the creation of two new positions -- a CEO to oversee management and a chief academic officer accountable for education. The hearings are part of the school board's efforts to solicit public input on the process of selecting a CEO. "I believe very strongly that if you don't tell someone, they'll never know," said Linda White, director of the Parent's Union for Public Schools, who spoke at the hearing. "We really don't want a CEO who is business-focused and has blinders on as to what children need to learn." Attendees compiled a veritable shopping list of qualities for a successful new leader, among them that the CEO be a team player with a strong commitment to families. "We need a CEO who has the strategic vision to see where we need to go, the practical knowledge to see how to get there and the leadership to make it happen," said Councilman Frank Rizzo, testifying at the hearing. Robert Booker of the Black Suburban Journal, an African-American newspaper, suggested that the new CEO should increase partnership with area businesses who use Philadelphia's graduates as a source of workers. "The new CEO should have a sense of feeling that it's not us against them," Booker said. "The approach to education should be a comprehensive one that when people come forward with new ideas -- be they charter schools or faith-based institutions -- that they look at them from the standpoint of resources to the school district, not as threats." By adopting this management model, Philadelphia joins other big-city school districts -- among them New York, Chicago and Los Angeles -- that have reemphasized education. "Education is the most important service that government can provide to ensure a prosperous future," Rizzo said. Some had complained that in doing so, these hearings were merely a formality to a decision that had already been made. "We have not written a job description -- we consider this part of the process," School Board President Pedro Ramos said. The sparse attendance in the crowd extended the school board's representation -- only four of the seven members were present. "I'm very disappointed that more community members are not here," White said. "Here's an opportunity to make a difference, but people would rather not show up and complain." While the CAO position has been filled by longtime school administrator Deidre Farmbry, the CEO slot has been filled on an interim basis since last October by Philip Goldsmith, a former PNC Bank Corporation executive. The two positions were formerly combined in the role of superintendent, which was vacated when David Hornbeck left last August. The new CEO will need to steer the nation's seventh-largest school district back to financial solvency, as it projects a deficit of $80.2 million by mid-2001. The digital divide must also be corrected. "While we are seeing the tremendous power of the Internet and the dot-coms, we also are in danger of our youth becoming a technological underclass," said a spokeswoman for Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller.