Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.The newly selected Westside superintendent agreed to leave his current position amid disagreements with his school board.
Blane McCann, 54, superintendent of the Shorewood School District in a Milwaukee suburb, signed a retirement agreement with his district on Dec. 29, less than two weeks before he was named a finalist for the Westside job.
Questions surrounding McCann's departure from Shorewood have arisen in the Westside district.
Several community members urged the Westside school board Monday to delay a decision and give greater consideration to the community input the board had sought.
The Westside school board, however, voted 4-2 to hire McCann. The board president said Tuesday that the issues surrounding McCann's exit from Shorewood were investigated before he was hired.
Barney Marvin, a member of one of five committees that interviewed the finalists, said he wanted the board to be unanimous with its selection.
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He also said Tuesday the committee never got a good answer as to why McCann was leaving Shorewood.
"It was, in our opinion, a little bit of a weak answer and not fully disclosing," Marvin said, "and that's what contributed to the overall impression that he might not be a dynamic leader that we're looking for."
John Carlton, a former Shorewood school board member and friend of McCann's, said tensions with the Shorewood board arose during the past few years.
In 2010, Carlton was voted off the board and two new board members were elected. Votes that had been 5-0 became 3-2 tallies more often, he said.
"There was a majority of the board that really didn't want him to stay around, which is too bad for our district because he really is a wonderful superintendent," he said.
Carlton pointed, in particular, to a hiring disagreement that McCann had with the board.
In summer 2011, McCann interviewed candidates for a director of instruction position. He recommended the board hire one of the candidates, but the five-member board rejected his pick, McCann said.
Rather than hire a new person, McCann said, the board decided to continue having three retired educators share the full-time position.
The president of the Shorewood school board couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.
However, Carlton said "that was probably an event that pushed things maybe over the edge."
"I was disappointed," McCann said in an interview.
McCann said that in his nine years at Shorewood, he accomplished many of his goals and that it was a good time to look at other opportunities.
Westside board President Kathy Bradley said the board fully explored the issues involving his exit, including callbacks to McCann and his references.
"It was something that we felt did merit further investigation, which we did do," she said. "Everything came back sounding really good."
McCann's retirement agreement with Shorewood dictates that his employment with the district end July 9.
The four-page agreement provides him with approximately $41,500 in compensation, not including payments for unused vacation days. The agreement also includes a confidentiality clause.
McCann, who will become Westside's ninth superintendent, said he's not worried about the board's divided vote.
"I don't care if it's a 4-2 or a 6-0 vote, I think no matter where you go, you have to prove yourself," McCann said. "I'm confident I can do that."
McCann was one of five finalists to replace Superintendent Jacquie Estee, who is retiring at the end of the school year.
Marvin, the committee member, said now that McCann has been selected, he's ready to support the school board's choice. "We're excited about moving forward," he said.
McCann came to the suburban Wisconsin district in 2003 and dealt with budget cuts almost every year in Shorewood, said Melissa Nelsen, president of the board of directors for a local foundation that supports Shorewood schools.
"He didn't walk into the school district that had everything pulled together," she said.
Still, McCann was able to produce strong academic results, she said.
For instance, 97 percent of Shorewood sixth-graders scored proficient or advanced on Wisconsin's state reading test, according to 2010 results. To compare, statewide in Wisconsin, 86 percent of sixth-graders scored proficient or advanced on the reading test.
The Shorewood district has an enrollment of about 2,000, while the Westside district has about 6,000 students.
Under the three-year contract approved by Westside board, McCann will be paid an annual salary of $185,000 plus benefits. The contract takes effect July 10.
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