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CV officials brush off criticism of superintendent
Board president says school did a thorough background check on Bill Harner.
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Online forums have been buzzing about Bill Harner ever since the Cumberland Valley superintendent candidate entered the Eagle View auditorium on June 9 to greet the public.
While the overwhelming majority speak very positively about him in evaluations to the school board, many anonymous Web chatters have questioned the board’s decision Monday to select the retired Army lieutenant colonel from the three finalists for the job.
Critics cite the 51-year-old’s “job hopping” tendency, lack of teaching experience, abrupt resignation from a school district in South Carolina and past requests for special job perks during his 10 years in education.
Harner shrugs off the criticism.
“I see myself staying there (at CV) for quite some time ... many, many years,” Harner said by phone this week. “My family and I are truly excited.”
Harner’s contract, which has yet to be finalized, is for three years and includes a July 1 start date. His salary will not be made public until he acts on the offer, according to school officials.
“He is aware of the terms and has agreed to it orally,” board President John Jordan said, noting that the document was sent to Louisiana by express mail on Tuesday.
Harner said his wife has been online searching for houses in the area.
Most recently, as deputy superintendent of the Recovery School District in New Orleans, Harner worked to rebuild nine high schools there with a $6.4 million Walton Family Foundation grant.
A simple Google search about Harner reveals several published reports regarding his past experiences.
Last year, the Toledo Blade newspaper in Ohio reported that Harner ended contract talks to become superintendent of Toledo Public Schools after the board of education refused to pay tuition for his teenage daughter to attend a private school and wouldn’t allow him to live outside the district.
Harner was also in the running to be Florida education commissioner and superintendent of the 2,000-student Steamboat Springs School District in Colorado in 2007. Most recently, he was one of the top four superintendent finalists for the Caddo Parish School District in Louisiana.
He withdrew his name there following the public forum at Cumberland Valley.
Harner’s salary offer from Toledo was $165,000. His salary as deputy superintendent in Philadelphia, where he served from 2006-07, was $136,000.
By contrast, former Cumberland Valley superintendent B. Jean Walker, who died of cancer in September 2007, made approximately $120,000 including goal-based bonuses, according to Jordan.
Maybe the biggest “red flag” for Cumberland Valley doubters was his resignation from Ohio’s Greenville County School District in 2004.
While he was credited with raising test scores, he also sparred with the board in his four years with the district, according to the Dayton Daily News.
A review by the county solicitor found no criminal wrongdoing after unnamed board members said Harner’s use of money from timber sales to start a lacrosse team, and other dealings, might have broken laws. Some said adding a sport was a bad investment during tough budget times, which included three straight years of state cuts.
He also came under fire from parents and school trustees for a proposal that would have altered start times for students in elementary, middle and high schools. He later withdrew the proposal.
Harner declined to address the past.
“I’ve done it before as a superintendent,” he said, referring to the academic achievements at Greenville. “The district was recognized nationally, not just statewide.”
During his tenure, Greenville more than doubled advanced placement enrollment, tripled scholarship dollars earned by graduating seniors and was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal for its success.
Harner was also selected as the National Administrator of the Year by the Association of School Librarians in 2004 and was a 2005 Fellow in the Broad Foundation’s Superintendents Academy.
In 2007, Harner was inducted into the South Carolina Lacrosse Hall of Fame for opening the first public high school lacrosse program in the state, then adding seven more high school programs as a superintendent.
Cumberland Valley is aware of Harner’s entire history as an educator, CV board president Jordan said.
“We know all about it,” he said, noting that the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, who conducted the search for the district, did its homework.
“We discussed it and felt comfortable with the findings,” he said. “We were comfortable to move forward.”
The district is fine with the fact that Harner didn’t rise through the ranks as a teacher, though he does have some teaching experience as a counselor/leadership instructor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and as an adjunct professor at Furman University in South Carolina.
Jordan said the district is also comfortable with the salary level it has offered him.
“He is going to be paid to take us to that next level,” Jordan said. “We felt we needed a superintendent that can take Cumberland Valley from good to great.”
He called Harner a “true visionary” and “true strategic planner.”
The other finalists for the position — Elaine Brown and Michael Golde, superintendents at South Allegheny and Chichester school districts, respectively — didn’t generate that feeling of leading the district to greatness, Jordan explained.
“With any acceptance or appointment, no matter what, you always take a risk,” he added. “We felt this was a low risk.”
The board feels Harner can unite the Cumberland Valley, especially its teachers and administrators, after much of the school year was spent quarreling over a new contract.
Union spokesman Jay Foerster said he wants to work with Harner to mend the fences.
“We’re hopeful that we can have an improved relationship and we look forward to the opportunity to build that between the teachers and the administration, the teachers and the board,” he said.
At Greenville, Harner was responsible for 14 high schools, 18 middle schools and 50 elementary schools — a student population of 63,000 and $475 million budget.
His first act of business at CV, he said, will be to get around to all of the schools in his new district, which includes seven elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. The student population is 7,800 students and the budget is $94 million.
He plans to meet with school leadership and as many faculty members as possible and also with people in the community, he said.
A finalized contract is expected by the end of the week, Jordan said.
