On December 11, 2023 the superintendent of Portland Public Schools (PPS), Guadalupe Guerrero, announced his resignation. This announcement came weeks after the end of the historic teachers’ strike that left educators and students without school for 26 days.
Guerrero will stay in office until Feb. 16, which gave the PPS Board of Education two months to find an interim or permanent superintendent. In early January it was announced that the board had unanimously voted to appoint Dr. Sandy Husk to fill the role of interim superintendent. Husk assumed her role starting Feb. 12 so a short transition period was offered.
Who was Superintendent Guerrero?
Guerrero served as Superintendent of PPS for six and a half years, renewing his contract twice. He left a lasting legacy as the first Latino Superintendent of PPS: increasing graduation rates, expanding career and technical programs at schools and creating new partnerships. PPS Board members, while disappointed with his resignation, are grateful for the work he has done over the years. While his resignation is sad for many, others are happy for a fresh face.
When Guerrero first took office in 2017 it was a nice change from the previous superintendent, Carole Smith, who stepped down in lue of controversy surrounding lead in drinking water. Yet as time went on Guerrero’s novelty wore off on some parents, students and community members who felt he was out of touch with what Portland Public Schools and students needed.
Guerrero originally lived in San Francisco with his family, and while his children and wife stayed in San Francisco to finish their high school education, Guerrero lived inside PPS boundaries — a requirement of being superintendent. Controversy over Guerrero spiked during the November teacher strike as many parents and teachers chanted and carried signs that said, “GG’s got to go.”
15 days after the teacher strike ended Guerrero’s departure became a reality. Before publicly announcing his resignation Guerrero discussed it with Board Chair Gary Hollands, then contacted each board member and individually sent them his letter of resignation.
Julia Brim-Edwards has served on the PPS Board for 11 years, and led the recruitment process for an interim superintendent with board member Andrew Scott. During 2017 Brim-Edwards served as Board Chair for PPS and helped lead the recruitment that led to Guerrero’s hire; she has been present on the PPS Board for his entire tenure. Brim-Edwards was also part of Vicky Phillips’ recruitment and hiring in
2004. Phillips served as PPS superintendent from 2004-2007.
Brim-Edwards said that she respected and appreciated all the work Guerrero had done for PPS, “I am appreciative that he stayed for the length of time that he did, most urban superintendents have much shorter tenures years,” she said. “During his tenure [he had] lots of headwinds, whether it was covid, the recent strike or inadequate funding.”
Roles of Interim Superintendent
Guerrero’s resignation will have several implications for PPS, aside from having to spend energy and resources to find a replacement, his resignation also comes before the next year’s budget is approved for the district. Board member Michelle DePass, while appreciative of the work he had done, wished he would have stayed for one more year as this “budget season” is a big one.
The currently proposed budget will need to be approved by June 30, 2024. This budget will have to implement needed budget costs, allowing for the continued modernization of Benson High School, the planning of Jefferson High School’s modification and planning for the Center for Black Student Excellence.
Alongside budget cuts and allowances for modernization, PPS plans on referring a local levy option to the ballot come May. “That mobile option funds 750 teachers so it’ll be very important that we pass that,” said Brim-Edwards. Because of Guerrero’s resignation, the oversight of the budget will fall to the interim superintendent.
Other roles for the superintendent will include rebuilding relations with teachers after the PAT strike. Implementing the contract brokered with the PAT and finalizing contracts with other represented staff including custodial staff and nutrition services. The interim superintendent will be responsible for helping find replacements to fill vacancies in leadership positions.
“When looking for an interim, sometimes it’s tempting for people to think that this is going to be a seat warmer or somebody to hold the place while we do our permanent recruitment for the permanent superintendent, but this is not the case at all,” said Brim-Edwards. “We’ve got big work ahead.”
Who is Dr. Sandy Husk?
Because Guerrero’s resignation comes at a critical time for PPS it was important that they found an individual who had served as a superintendent before. Husk served as the superintendent of the Salem-Keizer Public School district, which is of similar size to PPS, from 2006-2014.
To begin the recruitment process the PPS board gave a list of set criteria they were hoping to acquire. This list included having previous experience as a superintendent at a large school district, preferably in Oregon, and an individual who prioritizes student learning.
Combined with over 18 years of experience in school leadership Husk is a known advocate of educational equality. “She had a track record of in her time at Salem improving student outcomes, especially for students of color,” said Brim-Edwards. Under Husk’s advisory, the Salem-Keizer district saw a rise in graduation rates and a reduction in dropout rates.
Husk helped lead national nonprofit, AVID, serving as chief executive and working with 7,500 school districts to impact 2.5 million students annually. Along with bettering student outcomes Husk passed the biggest capitol bond in Oregon history at the time, which allowed for the on-time and under-budget modernization of schools in the Salem district.
While Husk currently lives in Sisters Oregon, during her time as interim she will reside inside PPS borders.
When conducting a search it is considered a positive match when the candidate meets 75-80 percent of the set criteria. At a special board meeting held Jan 3, Brim-Edwards said “In this case, we identified and I believe recruited a candidate who meets 100 percent of the criteria that we set.”
The meeting on Jan. 3 was held to allow board members to vote on Husk’s appointment to the position. Before the meeting was held Brim-Edwards and Scott worked with Husk to set up a forum for board members, and student representative, Frankie Silverstein, to meet the candidate. “Just even speaking with you for a few moments it was clear how much you care about students and also including student voices,” said Silverstein to Husk at the Jan. 3 special board meeting.
Husk was appointed to the position after a unanimous vote. While the student representative is not allowed to vote, Silverstein confirmed she would have voted yes if given a vote.
While Husk’s term as superintendent holds exciting promises, she is not a candidate for permanent superintendent and will end her tenure on June 30. PPS Board’s goal is to hire a permanent replacement by the end of June 2024.
The Search for a Permanent Superintendent
The criteria for the permanent superintendent will differ from the criteria set for the interim. “Both the hiring of Vicki Phillips and Guadalupe Guerrero, the community was very involved in establishing the criteria for the position and what was important,” said Brim-Edwards.
The hiring process for Guerrero and Phillips started with the board hiring a search firm. From there they worked with the community to form a position description and criteria for the job. Once that description was created it was given to the search firm who then reached out to leaders and individuals in the community that matched the job description. Individuals were also allowed to be nominated from the community. From both sources, 40-50 applications were received, which the board proceeded to go through and narrow down the top candidates for an interview with the full board, including the student representative.
The PPS Board is still in the beginning stages of hiring a permanent superintendent, but community members can expect to see a process similar to Guerrero and Phillips. With hopes of finalizing a search, the PPS Board will begin the formation of criteria for position description at their next meeting on Feb 20. While the future of PPS leadership holds many uncertainties, it also holds the exciting possibilities that come with any reset in management.
