Kansas City school board makes a wise superintendent choice

Kansas City Public Schools made the right choice in unanimously picking Mark T. Bedell as the new superintendent.

The school board announced Wednesday that it had selected Bedell, assistant superintendent for high schools at Baltimore County Public Schools in Towson, Md., over the other finalist, Ronald G. Taylor, superintendent of the Willingboro (N.J.) Township Public Schools.

Contract negotiations for the job, which pays $210,000 to $250,000 a year, are aimed at getting Bedell in the post by July 1.

“The general sentiment is we’re not looking for someone to come in and make major disruptions,” school board president Jon Hile said. “We’re looking for someone to come in and improve (the district) and build on it.”

High on Bedell’s to-do list must be full accreditation for the struggling district. It has been provisionally accredited since 2014.

Bedell said at a public forum last week at Paseo Academy that “full accreditation is non-negotiable.” He added that he was intent on “pushing Kansas City Public Schools to the next level.” That has to include stability and an end to the revolving door of superintendents.

It’s good that Bedell is familiar with the district’s comprehensive master plan, which calls for attendance boundary changes and closing three schools. He said he needed to study the plan but would not shy away from closing schools if it were in the district’s best financial and academic interests.

Bedell has been a teacher, assistant principal and principal. He also has a doctorate in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

At his other posts, Bedell said, he has reduced discipline problems and suspensions, boosted attendance and closed achievement gaps. It’s great that he wants to bring those innovations to Kansas City. In addition, he supports universal preschool.

“If it were up to me, I’d love to get kids in school by age 2,” Bedell said.

He follows Steve Green, who had been superintendent since 2011 before leaving in May for a job in an Atlanta area school district.

Bedell plans to use his background growing up with a drug-addicted, single mother as a motivator for schoolchildren in similar circumstances. He plans to support good teachers but push for improved quality.

Bedell has no experience as a superintendent, but he is the best choice to plant strong roots here and grow into the job.

This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Kansas City school board makes a wise superintendent choice."