In February, the Camp Verde Unified School District Governing Board officially decided to allow Superintendent Dennis Goodwin to finish his contract on home assignment.
In March, Camp Verde Middle School Principal Danny Howe was appointed administrator-in-charge on an interim basis.
At a meeting of the board on Tuesday, Dec. 11, the CVUSD board discussed searching for a full-time superintendent to replace Howe. The board entered a closed executive session to discuss Howe’s performance and the board’s feelings on seeking a replacement.
However, after discussing Howe’s time in the position, the board decided against replacing him, feeling that he has been handling the job ably and there is no reason to seek change to what is working.
“We don’t want to get involved in a superintendent search right now,” board member Helen Freeman said at the meeting. “I think that things are going pretty well and I’m happy with just continuing with where we’re going.”
“I feel about the same. I don’t think we need to pursue a search,” board member Eric Lawson said. “We’re on the right track. I’d like to keep going in the same direction, working with Danny.”
Yavapai County Superintendent Tim Carter said that the school is free to keep Howe on in his current capacity, but that he would need to get certified by the state in order to officially be called superintendent.
“It’s up to the board what term they use. It doesn’t have to be superintendent,” Carter said. “If you call them a superintendent, they have to have a certificate. If not, they can call them what they want.”
Howe said that although he has many of the qualifications to seek a certificate, with 17 years as a teacher, 10 as a principal, and one as administrator-in-charge, he has no interest in taking the test necessary to become certified, meaning that the school district will likely continue referring to him as administrator-in-charge rather than superintendent.
“Me having that certificate doesn’t make me any more qualified,” Howe said. “There have been several people who have sat in the seat before me in Camp Verde who have had the certificate, and they didn’t know anything. They had never been a teacher, they had never been a principal.”
Howe said he is happy to continue on in his dual role as both CVMS principal and administrator-in-charge for as long as the board wants to keep him on, and that although it keeps him “busier than heck,” he feels he is up to the task.
“I’m excited about it,” Howe said. “It feels good that they have confidence in me in the district.”
He did however say that if the school board is interested in keeping him in charge for the long term, he would hope they will provide him with a long-term contract, which he expects the board will do sometime in the next few months.
“I want to be secure. This is my home. I love this place. I love the town. I love the people. I love the school.”
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
