Local advisory board asks state to redo hiring process for Mt. Edgecumbe superintendent
- Alaska Beacon
- 49 minutes ago
- 4 min read
MEHS board says the superintendent hire should focus solely on the state-run boarding school, but the current superintendent administers MEHS and another district
By Corinne Smith
Alaska Beacon
Members of Mt. Edgecumbe High School’s local advisory board are urging the state to re-open hiring for the superintendent of the state-run boarding school.
In a Mar. 6 letter, the local board asked the Alaska State Board of Education and the education commissioner to immediately re-open the superintendent position. The state board is responsible for overseeing the school, and the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development is charged with operating the high school.
Last year, DEED launched a superintendent hiring search after a group of Mt. Edgecumbe teachers and staff wrote a letter of no confidence in the former superintendent, who then resigned. DEED hired David Langford to serve as superintendent starting in July.
Local advisory board members said in the letter they were not consulted in DEED’s hiring process, as required by policy. “We believe the position should be filled through a thorough, equitable and transparent hiring process,” they wrote.
In the year since Langford’s hire, the school officials made significant budget and staff cuts, hired a new contractor running the student dorms, and seen a wave of student disenrollments prompting lawmakers to make an impromptu visit and spotlight maintenance needs, student services and public attention on the school.
The local board also raised concerns that Langford is superintendent of both the Chatham School District and Mt. Edgecumbe High School at the same time. That means he is directing Mt. Edgecumbe High School through a period of change and challenges, while at the same time managing the Chatham School District, which serves approximately 175 students across four Southeast Alaska communities.
“Additionally, we believe that it is imperative to assert that the Superintendent for MEHS remain a sole and dedicated role and not have shared leadership responsibilities of any other schools or districts, so that the full attention and undivided professional focus needed can be committed to this position,” the letter said.
Members of the local board did not immediately respond to an interview request on Thursday.
Sally Stockhausen, chair of the state board of education, responded to the local board in a letter on Mar. 13, and said that a new special committee created by the board will be reviewing its concerns, gathering input and reviewing options including issues related to governance and leadership.
At the state board meeting in Juneau on Mar. 10, board member Pamela Dupras, also a Mt. Edgecumbe High School alumni, asked Deena Bishop, education commissioner Langford to address the request and ongoing concerns.
“Because we have been receiving emails, and the emails ask for recall for the superintendent, and then the second part of that was the committee,” Dupras said, referring to the new committee to focus on the school.
Langford acknowledged the local board had wanted to have input in his hiring process. He said he was first hired by the Chatham School District and later learned about the issues at Mt. Edgecumbe and wanted to help. Last month, Langford testified to lawmakers that he was approached by former Wasilla Sen. Mike Shower to run both districts.
Langford said he only agreed to sign on to both superintendent roles with the permission of the board of Chatham School District.
“From my perspective, it’s worked out very, very well. I think Chatham has a lot of benefits, having me being closely connected to DEED and all of you,” he told the state board. “Just being the superintendent of Chatham, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here right now. So that’s been a really big benefit.”
Bishop told the state board she addressed some of the local advisory board’s concerns at their last meeting on Feb. 26. But she said re-opening superintendent hiring would be a “critical error,” and defended Langford’s experience and leadership.
“Folks that know me know when there’s time to hire we do engage a larger group. But this was critical. School needed to be opened,” she said.
Bishop said the department rushed to hire Langford and make several needed facilities improvements in order to open the school in August, including upgrades to the kitchen and student dorms.
“So mistakes were made. We rushed on some things, not on others, but I think we’re moving forward in a great place. And I respect people’s opinions. I’ve read that letter as well,” she said.
Bishop said she understands the local advisory board’s concerns, and acknowledged that they had no input in hiring, but asked for time and trust in Langford to continue as superintendent.
“I would just ask parents, I would ask community members, I would ask legislators, as I have, to investigate a little bit more and see — are we moving forward with good things for young people? And we are. Are we working through the issues adults have? We are. But I don’t want adult concerns and issues to overshadow what we do for children, and what we are held to do with this mission of education.”
• Corinne Smith started reporting in Alaska in 2020, serving as a radio reporter for several local stations across the state including in Petersburg, Haines, Homer and Dillingham. She spent two summers covering the Bristol Bay fishing season. Originally from Oakland, California, she got her start as a reporter, then morning show producer, at KPFA Radio in Berkeley. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
