Book: C

Section: General School Administration

Title: SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS – JOB DESCRIPTION

Code: CBA

Status: Active

Adopted: February 6, 1984

Last Revised: February 25, 2009

 

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SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS – JOB DESCRIPTION

Accountability

            The Superintendent of Schools is directly responsible to the Portland Board of Public Education (Board).

Job Goal

Provide educational leadership in developing and maintaining the best possible school system.  Fulfill all duties required by law.  Lead, guide, and direct the administrative, instructional, and support services teams in setting and achieving the highest standards of excellence in educational programs and operating systems.  Responsible for a system of supervision and evaluation for all staff designed to meet the goals of the Portland Public Schools.  Oversee and administer the use of all facilities, property, and funds in the best interests of students and the Portland Public Schools.

Required Expectation/Competencies

1. Communication - Able to communicate clearly with staff, parents, students and community, both verbally and in writing.
2. Community Relations - Recognizes the importance of both stimulating and considering community needs/wants regarding education.  Demonstrates ability to involve the community in developing and implementing goals.  Views the community/school relationship as a partnership.
3. Curriculum - Strong commitment to leading the effort to define and deliver an effective, consistent curriculum PreK-12 and Adult Education. 
4. School/Community Involvement – Visible in the schools, aware of current issues and activities in the schools, and shows an interest in community affairs.
5. Able to motivate, lead, guide and direct people.  Committed to implementing the -Leadership Mission and Vision Statement and strategic plan of the school system.
6. Diversity and Equity – Sets a strategic direction that supports diversity, equity and inclusion for staff and students by recommending, developing, implementing and managing positive actions.
7. Organizational Management - Uses a systematic approach to managing and improving the schools.  Excellent organization skills, working knowledge of school law, and proven ability to resolve organizational conflicts.
8. Personnel Management - Excellent people skills.  Ability to recruit and retain high quality staff.  Strong personnel management practices including annual performance reviews where appropriate and understanding of collective bargaining issues.          
1. School Facility Management - Good understanding of facilities management, including development of long-term maintenance plans and capital resource planning and management.
10. School Finance/Budgeting - Strong working knowledge of school finance, including budget development and management.  Ability to effectively communicate with the Board, staff, community and local municipal officials about budget/finance issues.  Clear understanding of federal, state, and local funding issues.
11. School Improvement - Supervise and evaluate school programs in the spirit of continuous improvement; understanding of educational practices, research, and national/state/local initiatives, including Maine’s Learning Results; and ability to frame issues for discussion, reach timely decisions and implement change.
50. Staff Development - Commitment to fostering continuous staff improvement emphasizing both system-wide and individual development.
1000. Superintendent/Board Relations - Understands that the Superintendent is responsible for management of the schools under the Board’s policies and is accountable to the Board. 
14. Maintains open communication with the Board.
15. Performs all duties required by federal and state statutes and regulations and implements Board policies.
16. Supervision/Evaluation - Understands the importance of accountability for staff and self.  Uses an evaluation process that establishes clear performance standards and follows through to resolve performance issues.
17. decision-making bodies, including the Maine Department of Education, the Maine State Legislature and its subcommittees, the Governor’s Office, and local City and County councils and committees.  Meets when necessary with interests for Represents Portland Public Schools - Effective lobbying for School System interestsPortland’s representative delegation, including City Councilors, State senators and representatives, and U.S. Congressional and Senate representatives.  Appropriate delegation of lobbying efforts is acceptable in some circumstances.
18. Full-time employment - Devotes their working time to the Portland School Department.  A full-time superintendent may perform educational service outside of the Portland Public Schools with the approval of the Commissioner of Education and with the consent of the Board.

Qualifications/Eligibility

A.  Meet or exceed the requirements for a Superintendent Certificate as established by Maine law and regulations.  

B.  Eligible for Maine Superintendent Certificate; Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership/Administration or Equivalent.

 

Terms of Employment

Work year shall be twelve (12) months.  Length of contract (not to exceed five years), salary and benefits shall be determined by the Board and Superintendent under the Superintendent’s individual contract.  Contract will expire on June 30 of the year of expiration.  (20-A MRSA § 1051(3))

Evaluation

Performance shall be evaluated in accordance with the provisions of the Board’s policy on valuation of the Superintendent.

 

 

 

Adopted:         February 6, 1984

 

Revised:          August 26, 1992; November 8, 2000; October 15, 2008;

February 25, 2009; November 26, 2019

 

CBA - Superintendent of Schools - Job Description.pdf (148 KB)

 

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