In a special session held Wednesday, May 7, the Konocti school board voted to appoint Dr. Bill MacDougall as the district”s next superintendent.
“Herb Gura had just announced that the board had decided to vote 5-0 to appoint me and I”m going ?Whoa” ? I started counting, one-one-thousand, two one-thousand,” MacDougall said, recollecting last Wednesday”s meeting. “And then people stood up and applauded. It meant a lot to me. I understand that it meant that people are counting on me.”
The board voted May 7 to offer MacDougall a three-year contract as its district superintendent. The current superintendent, Dr. Louise Nan, has submitted her resignation effective June 30, 2008.
“I”ll be closer to my family,” Nan said in an earlier interview, explaining that she was selected as superintendent of the Ripon Unified School District in San Joaquin County. Following the board”s May 7 decision, Nan warmly declared that she could not think of a better choice for someone to succeed her.
MacDougall said that the first thing he wants to do is to heal rifts in the district and then to heal the community. Negotiations have been at impasse between the district and teachers” union.
As an administrator with Konocti for more than 20 years, MacDougall said he originally thought he would always work with its children. But as time went on he began to see that he was being called to serve Konocti in a new direction and that he also believed he was ready for the challenge.
“The Chinese symbol for crisis is the symbol for opportunity,” he said. “And that”s important to remember.”
MacDougall has worked most recently at Konocti as principal of Carl? Continuation High School. The school has been recognized three times as a Model Continuation High School and is also recognized as one of the top alternative schools in California.
“A good manager manages for sustainability,” MacDougall said when asked about the future of Carl?. “Carl? will continue to be one of the finest schools in the country. Good teachers and good paraprofessionals make good schools.”
Carl? staff were confident in MacDougall”s appointment to district superintendent. “I”m so excited for the school district,” said school secretary Barbara Dye. “This is going to be a new era for the district.”
“We know we”re losing him to bigger things,” said science instructor Angie Siegel.
“He has a vision,” agreed Carl? educator Verna Rogers.
MacDougall has also served as principal of Oak Hill Middle School, as assistant principal of Lower Lake High School and for a brief time was assistant principal of Burns Valley and Lower Lake elementary schools. MacDougall has been actively involved in the creation of career-tech pathways at Lower Lake High School.
When making its decision, the board cited the current budget short fall, the district”s impasse with the teachers” union, the significant expense of a superintendent search and its confidence in the current administration as some reasons for voting to promote from within the district.
“It”s a wise decision in today”s times,” MacDougall agreed. “The wisdom of the district and for the district is here. We don”t need to go outside our district for wisdom. We know our community and love our community. I”m vested in this district.”
MacDougall is also involved in projects within the community, most notably the creation of a Safe House for at-risk youths.
“In alternative education, as in all educational places, we have children who find themselves in dire straits ?without a home and without an adult,” MacDougall said. “They need a safe place to go.”
MacDougall added that Carl? students, when asked to write what was the best thing about Lake County, said that ?We take care of our own.””
A four-person scramble golf tournament takes place Saturday, May 17, at Rob Roy Golf Course on Cobb. Proceeds benefit the Safe House, which will be a 24-hour facility providing temporary housing and access to services. For more information about the fundraiser, please call 928-4280 or 928-5713.
Editor”s Note: The Konocti Unified School District”s administrative office contributed to this report. Contact Cynthia Parkhill at cparkhill@clearlakeobserver.com.
