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Contrary to first impressions, the legislature has not eliminated the possibility of multiple-year contracts for school administrators or called for a total rewrite of all administrators' contracts. What the legislature did do, in passing HB 452, was lay down new rules for the drafting of multi-year contracts, the terms under which they could be renewed and some criteria for evaluation of the performance of administrators.

To put it quite plainly, 95 percent of the language in a current multiple year contract would still be appropriate. However the portions relating to length of contract and evaluation need to be adjusted.

House Bill 452, now Public Act 90-548 (105-ILCS 5/10-23.8) changed the rules for boards of education interested in offering multiple-year contracts to administrators. While the intent of the legislature may be debated for some time, the language which became law is quite specific. It says:

"Superintendent contracts. After the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 and the expiration of contracts in effect on the effective date of this amendatory Act, school districts may only employ a superintendent under either a contract for a period not exceeding one year or a performance-based contract for a period not exceeding 5 years. Performance-based contracts shall be linked to student performance and academic improvement within the schools of the districts. No performance-based contract shall be extended or rolled-over prior to its scheduled expiration unless all the performance and improvement goals contained in the contract have been met. Each performance-based contract shall include the goals and indicators of student performance and academic improvement determined and used by the local school board to measure the performance and effectiveness of the superintendent and such other information as the local school board may determine.

"By accepting the terms of a multi-year contract, the superintendent waives all rights granted him or her under Sections 24-11 through 24-16 of this Act for the duration of his or her employment as superintendent in the district."

The language for principals and other administrators is parallel to that for the superintendent.

An analysis of what the language does and does not say might be helpful.

First, it does not change single-year contracts.

Second, it immediately affects only that group of superintendents whose multiple-year contracts are in the final year and due to expire this year. Eventually, it will affect all superintendents under multiple-year contracts, but for now, this group and superintendents newly employed for more than one year are the only superintendents affected.

Third, the language in the last paragraph has been changed only to be gender neutral.

The language concerning the "performance-based" nature of the contract seems to be the most problematic. While it may seem to dictate the terms of the contract, it really is more of a statement of intent as to how the contract should be drawn.

1. The contract must be linked to student performance and academic improvement.
2. It may not have an automatic roll-over provision.
3. It may be extended or rolled over when all of the goals are met.
4. It shall include the goals and indicators (student performance and academic improvement) used by the local school board to measure the performance and effectiveness of the superintendent.

What the law does not do is preclude boards/administrators from renegotiating the contract during the life of the contract. Also, it does not prohibit boards from issuing a new contract even if the terms of the old contract are not met. The law simply states that a performance-based contract cannot be extended or rolled over prior to its scheduled expiration unless all performance and improvement goals have been met.

Boards need to proceed carefully when drafting the contract. The contract, including the goals it enumerates, becomes a contractual obligation of the board that binds both the current board and succeeding boards until the contract expires. Be sure to have your school board attorney review the contract prior to final approval.

Including educational goals in a written contract requires the school board and the administrator to take the goal-setting process very seriously.

Goal setting

Administrators will need assurances that they will have the necessary resources available for them to reach the goals that they and the board have agreed upon. For example, if one of the goals is to improve student performance in applied science, then a contractual provision might be that the board agrees to set aside $100,000 per year for the purpose of computer lab updating.

This is only fair and to be expected. To place the relationship in another light, consider the board of education the "owner" and the superintendent as the "contractor." No contractor is willing to start a job without assurances that the necessary materials will be at his disposal and that he will have control over the personnel who are responsible for carrying out the job. That means boards may be called upon to delegate more control over selection, compensation, and retention of personnel critical in carrying out the task. That control would be delegated to the superintendent for the duration of the contract.

The board needs to understand that when it sets goals for the superintendent, then the achievement of those goals becomes the major concern of the superintendent. That means the vast majority of the superintendent's time, energy and resources will be dedicated to achieving those ends. For example, if a goal is to improve reading scores, the superintendent may decrease dramatically the time allocated for teaching social studies, science, art, and music. The goal set by the board was to improve reading scores, not to maintain the status quo.

Typically, contracts can be renegotiated if the provisions are mutually agreed upon. If a board of education determines that it can no longer provide the financial resources to pursue a particular goal, or that the political cost of achieving the goal is too high, then the board can approach the superintendent to remove or modify that goal. By the same token, the superintendent may approach the board to renegotiate goals.

The major concern is that both parties maintain high levels of communication, with a periodic review of the goals and the progress towards those goals.

Another requirement of the performance contract states: "goals and indicators of student performance and academic improvement determined and used by the local school board to measure the performance and effectiveness of the superintendent and such other information as the local school board may determine."

To carry out this requirement, the board needs to decide exactly how the superintendent is going to be evaluated and exactly what information will be used in the process. If your board has not done this, then it needs to start that process immediately.

Administrators and boards would be ill advised to use any one student testing program for measuring the performance of the superintendent. The reason is simple: The test form, questions, and even grade levels tested may change. If they do, the board and administrator will not have consistent information that they can use to judge the progress towards goals. In addition, most test programs do not take into account the number of students who move in and out of the district or even try to track them between grades.

Performance contracting may provide the opportunity for the board and superintendent to focus on the important goals of improving student performance and academic improvement. School boards and superintendents must work together to establish educational goals. Boards need to be committed to the changes they are contracting for.

In the past, boards might have vacillated on the goals being pursued, based on the make up of the board, feedback from the community or other factors. That luxury no longer exists. Now, the contract will be put in place and boards will be bound by the provisions of that contract until it expires.