Madison Heights

District's new superintendent shares hope for school year

By Andy Kozlowski
C & G Staff Writer

MADISON HEIGHTS — For the Madison Public Schools District, 2010 got off to a rocky start as its Board of Education underwent a string of shakeups that included multiple trustee resignations and the resignation of then-Superintendent Gary Vettori, who said the board wanted to go in a different direction. 

Since then, the board has stabilized and a new superintendent has taken the wheel. And now she’s outlining some of her hopes for the district as the 2010-11 school year gets under way.

Carol Klenow came on board in February, when the Madison board entered into an agreement with the regional Oakland Schools district for the provision of an interim superintendent. The Shelby Township resident had previously served as associate superintendent at Oakland Schools.

“I was offered the assignment and gladly accepted because of my familiarity with the district and its challenges,” Klenow said.

In June, Madison’s board agreed to extend the arrangement by one year, allowing Klenow to continue what she’d begun.

“The educational priorities are straightforward,” Klenow said. “We want to increase student achievement in the core subject areas; create a culture of excellence with high expectations for students; and provide a safe, orderly school setting in which students can learn. … The improvements that affect students are the main focus this time.”

With Madison district schools failing to make overall district-wide Adequate Yearly Progress last month, and Madison High receiving a D-Alert for its EducationYES! report card grade, the challenge is clear.

The achievement gap between the low- and high-achieving students must be narrowed, Klenow said, by focusing on fields needed to complete the Michigan Merit Curriculum required of all students.

“As we make progress, I am confident that we will be able to be back on track to make district-wide AYP as we have in previous years,” Klenow said.

Keeping the district in good financial shape is another challenge altogether. The district ended the 2008-09 school year back in the black for the first time in 20 years, having eliminated a $586,000 deficit and achieved around $50,000 in savings. But state cuts in per-pupil revenue allocations and other legislative decisions have a profound impact on a district’s budget.

“School funding is neither stable nor predictable,” Klenow said. “We will have the final snapshot of how we ended the 2009-10 fiscal year when audit is presented to the board in November.”

She added that in response, the district eliminated several positions this year, mostly through attrition as employees took advantage of the recent statewide retirement incentive, and also took steps to cut costs for the food service program by entering into a cooperative agreement with The Lamphere Schools that will save both districts money while improving breakfast and lunch programs offered to students.

Maintaining student enrollment levels is also critical.

“Madison, like other districts in southern Oakland County, is situated in a community that has fewer families with school-age children than it did several ago,” Klenow noted. “We are trying to draw more students to the district by improving the quality of programs, expanding elective courses for secondary students, offering online learning opportunities, adding activities and extracurricular programs, and maintaining schools that are safe, orderly and engaging.”

 Board Vice President Ken Melchert said Klenow has done a “great job.”

“I’d say her organizational skills are great. She’s putting things in order that need to be in order,” Melchert said. “The depth of her vision is good. She’s taking things to another level.

“We’re working very hard crunching the numbers, trying to get this deficit done, so we can put more into the kids and add more programs and start functioning a lot better,” he added. “That’s one of the main things she (Klenow) brings to the table, making sure classrooms are right, enrollment is right.”

Klenow’s leadership comes at a time when the often-turbulent board has finally settled.

Trustees Keith Beguhn, Larry Lewis and Denise Collom announced their resignations Jan. 11, with Collom citing bullying by the board majority as one reason for her departure. Cindy Holder, Jim Burns and Jeffrey Angelo replaced them Jan. 25.

When Vettori announced his resignation as superintendent Feb. 11, Klenow was to become the fourth person to serve as the district’s superintendent since January 2009, the first two being Paul Rogers, who held the job for two years before a contract dispute with the previous board prompted his departure, and John Telford, an interim superintendent fired two months in for his push to expand the Schools of Choice program.   

“This is a very, very good board, and they’re all pro-kid,” Melchert said. “The politics have somewhat left. We’re buckling down and trying to hold people accountable for the kids’ future. … We’re trying to give the kids all they need, opening their horizons.”

Klenow said she anticipates “measurable gains” in the year to come.

“My wish for the future is that every student who graduates from our school district will be ready for college or other postsecondary training, careers and citizenship in a globalized world,” she said.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Andy Kozlowski at akozlowski@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1104.