Despite support for district candidate, KCK school board names outsider superintendent

Tasked with choosing between a district outsider touted for closing achievement gaps and a current school administrator with decades of experience serving Kansas City, Kansas schools, elected officials opted for new blood to lead the school district Tuesday.

The Kansas City, Kansas School Board voted to select Charles Foust, the chief school performance officer for Union County Public Schools in Monroe, North Carolina, as the district's next superintendent.

The decision was split 5-2, with board members Brenda Jones and Janey Humphries voting against the decision.

After the vote was announced, many in an audience of teachers, district staff and community members gasped and erupted into conversation. Some shouted "Nooo," while an audience member booed loudly.

Earlier in the meeting, several teachers and community members had publicly voiced their support for Strickland and urged board members to look internally for new leadership.

"What we need is refinement, not a change in vision," community member Randy Lopez told the board. "...The knowledge on how to move forward exists within this room."

But the majority of board members voted to offer a contract to Foust, who visited the district last week as he and Strickland both completed final interviews.

Board Vice President Valdenia Winn said she looked carefully at both candidates' credentials and track records. She said Foust's experience turning low-performing schools around was a deciding factor for her.

She was also impressed, she said, with a plan he shared about how to incorporate college and career readiness programs into elementary and middle schools.

"Our student achievement, ACT scores, and preparing students for college and careers has been at a low point for a long time," Winn said. "I would say we can't keep doing the same thing and expect different outcomes."

Foust taught at the elementary, university and community college levels before taking roles as a principal, assistant principal and curriculum facilitator in the Houston Independent School District.

He was a school support officer before moving to Union County Public Schools to become the district's chief school performance officer.

He has bachelor's and master's degrees from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, a master's degree in school administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a doctorate from the University of Houston.

Strickland, a Washington High School graduate, has worked in Kansas City, Kansas schools for three decades.

According to the district, he served as a third-grade teacher, director for a district after school program and Caruthers Elementary School principal before serving in assistant superintendent roles starting in 2010.

He was promoted as deputy superintendent before the 2017 school year began. As the meeting concluded, the audience stood and clapped for Strickland, who was attending the meeting as a member of the current administration.

Foust will replace outgoing superintendent Cindy Lane, a 30-year veteran of the Kansas City, Kansas school district who has led the district for the past eight years.

Lane, an outspoken advocate in the movement to properly fund Kansas schools and the 2016 Kansas Superintendent of the Year, announced her retirement this January.

The details of Foust's contract were not immediately available Tuesday night. The board also approved Julia Ford, the former superintendent of Topeka Public Schools, as interim superintendent through August 30, 2018.

Winn said she understood the emotional reaction of community members. She said she and other board members would serve as "ambassadors" to help Foust find buy-in with the community.

"We do not want to destroy what we have that is good," Winn said. "We have to build upon it and expand."

This story was originally published June 26, 2018 at 9:46 PM.