Greg CorningPaul FranzwaJohn Wallace

Mondovi narrows search for new district administrator

Public forum draws big turnout
They were all three excellent candidates. I’m confident all three could do the job. We’re just looking for the best fit for Mondovi.” ~Laura Wolf, Mondovi School Board President

 

by Beth Kraft

 

The Mondovi School Board may soon name a new district administrator following months of interviews, conversations and consultations.

An open forum held Jan. 29 attracted upwards of 70 members of the public who packed the Mondovi High School IMC to ask questions and get to know the three finalists up for the position.

Those finalists, narrowed down from an initial applicant pool of 18, are Greg Corning, principal of Wakanda Elementary in Menomonie, Paul Franzwa, Mondovi Elementary Principal, and John Wallace, principal of Randall Elementary in Madison.

All three applicants have ties to the local area. Franzwa, an Eleva native, has served as elementary principal at Mondovi for the past 10 years and previously taught middle school math in Independence. Corning taught physical education and health in the Pepin School District from 1990-2000 and his wife, Jane, is originally from Durand. Wallace is also familiar with the local area as both a current Eau Claire resident and having worked at Elk Mound and as the principal at South Middle School in Eau Claire.

Mondovi School Board president Laura Wolf said the number of parents, students and teachers who attended the recent question-and-answer session was impressive.

“Everybody was happily surprised,” said Wolf. “[The Board was] very happy to see the numbers that turned out.” 

Forum moderator Dennis Richards, a consultant with the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) who has been assisting Mondovi with its superintendent selection process, said the turnout at Mondovi was the second-largest showing he’s ever seen at a public forum.

Wolf said obtaining input from the community has been important to the Mondovi School Board throughout the selection process, which began with focus groups in November and progressed to a 14-member hybrid committee to help interview the three finalists.

“Open forums are important,” she added. “We wanted to see what the community was looking for a in new superintendent.”

Anonymous forms were also made available for forum attendees to fill out with comments about each of the three candidates that evening, resulting in drop-off box crammed with responses for Board members to consider.

Wolf said the Board has met to make a final selection and hopes to make a formal announcement “soon.”

“We’re still working through the process,” she said, pointing to ongoing contract negotiations.

During the recent candidate meet-and-greet, attendees were invited to ask each of the three men virtually any questions they wanted. Community members touched on a wide variety of subjects during each of the 45-minute Q&A sessions, including management styles, achievements, daily expectations as superintendent, and opinions on topics like technology and the role of the school board.

All three were drawn to apply for the district administrator’s position at Mondovi for different reasons.

As a current member of the community, Franzwa said he was looking to make good use of his knowledge of Mondovi’s culture.

“My experience in this community has been so professionally rewarding,” he said, listing PBIS and helping to align elementary curriculum with the Common Core Standards as a few of the accomplishments he is most proud of.

“When you walk in the halls and you interact with the kids and interact with the teachers...I’m just so impressed with this community and I’m very proud to be an administrator in this building,” commented Franzwa.

Corning said he was drawn to Mondovi in part because of the schools’ teaching staff, student success and community support. He pointed to the district’s passage of an operational referendum last fall as proof-positive that area residents hold the schools in high regard.

“It’s a community that supports what we do here at school,” said Corning, who has spent 15 years total in the Menomonie School District.

A Louisiana native with teaching experience at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, Wallace completed graduate work at UW-Eau Claire and said he has always enjoyed working in the area, particularly the 12 years he spent at Elk Mound.

“There was something there than you can’t find in a big district,” Wallace said, pointing to the unity and continuity present in smaller communities.

All three candidates agreed being visible and approachable to students and staff was key to being an effective school leader.

Franzwa asserted it would be a tough change to interact less with students than he does in his current position, but he said he would still make effort to be visible in common areas and visit classrooms.

Corning said visibility in areas where students congregate and involvement in school events would help the school’s youth and staff get to know him. Wallace revealed he actually doesn’t use an office, rather he visits classrooms on a daily basis.

“I’m a constant figure,” Wallace said.

Stance on technology was also a popular question. Corning and Franzwa both agreed 1:1 initiatives can be great tools, but shouldn’t be the sole focus.

“There’s nothing more important than the teacher,” Franzwa said, noting technology exposure can help assist learning but should not be relied on alone in place of teacher/student interactions.

Corning said Wakanda was having good luck with 2 or 3:1 student-to-technology device ratios using strategically-placed carts of tech tools at school.

The role of school boards was also discussed at length by all three candidates relating to mitigating conflicts.

Corning said maintaining an open relationship with board members was key, noting it’s important to him to speak up and air issues rather than allowing them to get worse or continue on. He also pointed to his HR experience as co-chair of the strategic planning committee for personnel in the Menomonie schools.

Wallace said he would work to give the board facts to help them make decisions in the best interests of the district, but also acknowledged that the Board has a tough role.

Many communities expect board members to be involved in school and student happenings and know everything that goes on, he explained—a lofty expectation.

Following a “chain of command” to mitigate issues with a board stepping outside of its traditional role, which the candidates all agreed when asked was to set school policies, was Franzwa’s answer to resolving conflict between administrators and board members. 

“Inevitably it’s going to happen,” he said.

Franzwa is already a member of the Mondovi community, but the willingness of the other two candidates to reside within the district was also a question posed by forum attendees.

Corning said his family would eventually look at moving to the Mondovi area once his daughter, currently a junior in high school, graduates.

“I want to be a part of the community where I work,” stressed Corning, detailing his involvement in the Menomonie community as a volunteer firefighter.

He also regularly assists with the area food pantry and Boys & Girls Club organizations and has served as a youth sports coach in the past.

Wallace, however, said moving from Eau Claire was not an option for him. He and his wife, also a career educator, currently operate a group home there for a few adults with special needs.

As none of the three candidates have previously served in a superintendent’s role, questions regarding business experience and the challenges the new position is likely to present were also posed to the candidates.

Listing his goals for the district of maintaining financial stability, hiring and retaining great staff, and focusing on student achievement, Franzwa pointed out that the role of the administrator is changing from one of day-to-day management to instructional leadership—a mindset echoed by Wallace.

District finance manager Kristi Zarins is the a go-to resource for budget planning and district financial knowledge, Franzwa pointed out.

Corning admitted coming to a new district in a new position would come with a “learning curve” but he promised to work hard to overcome those challenges.

“I’m an honest person, I’m a dedicated person, and I give everything to the school district for which I work,” he said.

Corning is in his fifth year as principal at Wakanda and spent the previous 10 years as principal and assistant principal at Menomonie High School.

While the Mondovi staff and community have been asked for their input throughout the superintendent selection process, Wolf emphasized that the final decision will ultimately be made by the Mondovi School Board. The group has spent hours researching and interviewing candidates, she said, and has been charged with the very difficult decision of choosing one to be Mondovi’s new district administrator.

“They were all three excellent candidates,” said Wolf. “I’m confident all three could do the job. We’re just looking for the best fit for Mondovi.”

Current Mondovi District Administrator Cheryl Gullicksrud plans to remain with the district through the end of the school year.

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