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PHOTO BY JOHN LARSON

NEW LEADER. Art Jarvis spoke with many people attending a pow wow at Tacoma Community College April 26.

Jarvis selected as school superintendent

By John Larson

Tacoma School Board opted for experience when they voted 4-1 to hire Art Jarvis as superintendent during its April 24 meeting. Jarvis has served in the position on an interim basis since last summer. He previously served as superintendent with Enumclaw School District and South Whidbey School District, which board members cited as an advantage over the other finalist, Alan Ingram, chief accountability officer for Oklahoma Public City Schools.

Board member Kurt Miller cast the dissenting vote.

Board member Debbie Winskill made a motion to enter into negotiations with Jarvis. Board member Connie Rickman seconded the motion.

Board member Kim Golding discussed her recent site visits to Enumclaw and Whidbey Island, where she talked to former school board members and school district staff about Jarvis. While a few people told her they did not care for him, the overall response was “overwhelmingly positive.”

Some people who initially did not approve of Jarvis changed their minds after he was on the job for a while, Golding added.

He earned praise for implementing all-day kindergarten in Enumclaw. At South Whidbey people were impressed with how he got senior citizens to mentor youth and got the private sector to assist in building a performing arts center. “I got a sense he is a great community builder,” Golding remarked.

She noted he served in both positions for much longer than five years, which is the average for a superintendent in this state. “He is dedicated and stays in his location.”

Winskill said Ingram is well respected in Oklahoma City. “We heard very good things about him everywhere we went,” she remarked. She said her reason for not supporting him is his job there is focused on implementing federal programs and his experience is not broad enough to be a superintendent.

“We heard about his charismatic personality,” said Rickman. He is regarded as a fast learner who is committed to turning around failing schools. “I feel strongly that he will be a good superintendent, he just needs a little more experience for a district the size of Tacoma.”

Miller said both are excellent candidates and both could bring different qualities to the position.

Miller suggested selecting Jarvis and trying to bring Ingram on board as deputy superintendent. Jarvis is 64. Miller said Jarvis would likely retire within a few years and it would be good to have Ingram here as a successor.

“We cannot afford to keep changing leaders every few years,” he said. “Let’s use all the tools in the toolbox.” Miller said he did not think the board was overstepping its authority in promoting this idea.

Rickman opposed the idea. She said the board does not know if the personalities of the two men would mesh well and promoting this proposal could cause both to turn down the job.

Board member Jim Dugan expressed interest in Miller’s idea. He said he was impressed with Ingram’s “stature, integrity and humility.” Dugan noted Ingram is in charge of a small section of his district. He said Tacoma “is too big of a leap for the experience he has now.”

Miller said the board needs to look at where the district will be in five to 10 years. “We have the opportunity to do something different,” he said. “If he (Ingram) works out he could be one of the best.”

Some citizens who favored Ingram have claimed Jarvis lacks experience in an urban district. Winskill noted Jarvis worked at Seattle Public Schools before coming to Tacoma last year. She lauded his knowledge of finance and human resources. “We can see he is trained in all facets of education.”

Golding said two years ago she would have taken a chance on someone without prior superintendent experience, but not now. “Tacoma begs for stability,” she said. “We have an opportunity to move forward without losing ground.”

Jim Huge, the consultant hired to conduct the candidate search, said he would discuss Miller’s idea with Jarvis. He indicated Jarvis might be open to it. “The two of them together could be great for Tacoma,” Huge said.

Miller said despite casting the ‘no’ vote, he likes Jarvis and would call to congratulate him.

Jarvis was not at the meeting. Dugan said he opted not to attend because he was a finalist and did not feel it appropriate to be there.

Contacted two days later, Jarvis said he was aware of Miller’s proposal. “I have not tried to react to it,” he remarked.

He said the deputy superintendent position “is very significant in how we move forward.”

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