Just hours after being named superintendent, Bruce Hibbard is already working, meeting with his new cabinet staff and touring Floyd Central High School today.

In a 7-0 vote Monday night, the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. Board of School Trustees picked Hibbard out of 16 applicants for the job, paying him approximately $151,000 a year as part of a 3-year contract, according to Roger Whaley, board president.

Other perks of his contract include moving expenses as well as a $2,000 a month stipend for up to 12 months for housing, according to Lee Ann Wiseheart, board vice president. She said that stipend will end once Hibbard’s home sells or the time period runs out, whichever comes first. The details of his contract are to be released today, according to Dave Rarick, director of safety and public information officer.

Hibbard, 44, was one of two candidates that were introduced to the public last month. The 44-year-old comes to Southern Indiana from Indianapolis, where he previously worked as assistant superintendent for the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township.

On Monday night Hibbard told the board that he was thrilled to be here and excited to get started.



GETTING STARTED

“My entry plan is about listening and I’ll hit the ground learning. I want to learn as much as I possibly can about New Albany-Floyd [County] schools,” Hibbard said after the meeting, adding that it wouldn’t be right to already have an action plan in place before talking with others. “I want to get input from everybody and spend a lot of time in the first 90 days really listening to people and finding out where we really are as a district.”

He said part of that focuses on four questions:

• What do kids need to know and when?

• How do you know that the students have acquired the knowledge needed?

• What are you doing for kids who are not getting it?

• How are you helping push the kids who can?

Hibbard said teachers and administrators have to work together for the first question, developing a pacing and curriculum guide that would detail what children need to know by each grade level. Next, there needs to be a set short cycle of assessments, to make sure children are keeping up, he added. For those not, he said there needs to be intervention to catch them up.



CLOSING SCHOOLS?

Another task Hibbard will face is what to do with school districting lines, closing schools and more — all issues brought up by the Resources for Results committee. NA-FC’s last superintendent, Dennis Brooks, recommended to not close a school this fall, but fell short of saying beyond that or what to do with the district lines. However, he recommended to start another group — the visioning committee — to create a 10-year plan for the corporation.

Hibbard said he is up to the challenges that poses.

“The district I just came from, we had to close two [elementary] schools last year. It’s not something you’d lightheartedly do. You certainly want to include the community in that discussion,” Hibbard said. “I think what it comes down to, the New Albany-Floyd County community would have to decide on how are we going to best use our resources to provide a rich program for students and also keep class sizes at an optimum level?”

He said the move to close the two schools saved that district $1 million in operating and administrative expenses — funds from outside of the classroom.

Wiseheart said this topic was one brought up in the interview process and is one that is close to her heart, since she served on the Resources group for more than three years.

“It wasn’t nice to know he’s closed schools because closing schools is not fun. But, knowing the process they went about, they were so in-depth with their community meetings, they were so involved in educating and the community really knew why they were doing it based on the research and the data and [based on] the people we spoke to, the people were behind it, because they did it right,” Wiseheart said. “They were transparent, informative and they educated the community and they did it the right way.”

As for what that means for NA-FC, Wiseheart said Hibbard will focus his decision on what is right for all involved.

“I think that what you will see with his leadership is that he will not close a school unless the data is there and the community is totally understanding and it’s the right thing for children,” Wiseheart said. “He’s kid focused. If it’s the right thing for kids and the future of our school corporation, he’ll do it. But, if it’s not, he won’t.”



HAVING THE BEST

Wiseheart said she feels that NA-FC now has the best leader in the state, who is going to take the district to new levels. Other board members agreed.

“He was without a doubt the best selection,” Jim Zoeller, board member, said.

“He was a perfect fit for the time. He has a passion for kids. We’re very fortunate to get a man of such high quality,” Don Sakel, board member, said. “It’s hard telling how far this school corporation will go now.”

“I think this is going to be the most exciting period this school corporation has had in a while,” Whaley said.