From Epitaph Issue 10, Published February 23, 2007

The school superintendent’s dismissal was a pink elephant in the room during the Tombstone Unified School District Board of Trustees’ roughly three-and-a-half hour meeting on Wednesday.

There was no discussion of finding a replacement for Superintendent Ronald Hennings after his contract was not renewed and the Budget Reduction Committee recommended eliminating the superintendent position at the Feb. 7 meeting.

“It was an executive session,” said Benjamin Barber, board president. “We have no comment.”
Hennings said he is worried about the district without a superintendent.

“We need to avoid any drastic emergency decisions,” he said.

Legally, Tombstone doesn’t need a superintendent, District Legal Representative Candyce Pardee said.

“You can have a supervisory person who is a superintendent, a principal or a head teacher,” according to Arizona Revised Statute 15-503, Pardee said.

However, under Arizona administrative code, the supervisory person must have a superintendent certificate, Pardee said.

The North Central Association, which awards schools their accreditation, sometimes requires more than just a head teacher, Pardee said. She said she still needed to contact the association to make sure TUSD doesn’t lose accreditation, which would mean Tombstone students wouldn’t be able to attend college.

“There’s many unanticipated consequences with the interaction of law and regulation,” Hennings said. “The ripple effect could be negative.”

Hennings said he was surprised and disappointed when the board did not renew his contract.
“We need people with proven experience,” Hennings said. “Only licensed superintendents and principals have this expertise.”

Hennings’ goal was to dig the district out of its financial hole. During his time with the district, he raised grant funding from $700,000 to $1.1 million a year and acquired $250,000 worth of technology and career equipment for the schools.

Robert Devere, principal of Tombstone High School, also refused to comment, saying the decision was solely up to the board.