After a six-month search process, the Hazelwood School District Board of Education appointed Nettie Collins-Hart as the new superintendent on Monday, April 11.
She is currently the superintendent of Proviso School District 209 in Forest Park, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. She will replace interim superintendent Ingrid Clark-Jackson on July 1.
The school district Collins-Hart has led for eight years has approximately 5,000 students. Hazelwood School district, the second-largest in the region with 18,000 students, will be the largest student population she has ever led.
Kim Mckenzie, communications director for the district, said officials aren’t concerned about Collins-Hart transferring from a much smaller school district.
“Dr. Collins-Hart has an extensive background in education.” McKenzie said. “During that time she has managed upward of 12,500 students and 10,500 in another area.”
Collins-Hart served as assistant superintendent in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, servicing 12,500 students and also in Lawrence Public Schools in Kansas, serving 10,500 students.
Collins-Hart has a doctorate degree in educational policy and leadership from University of Kansas – Lawrence. She has a master’s degree in educational administration and curriculum and instruction, and a master’s degree in English education, from East Carolina University. She also has a bachelor’s degree in English education from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
Collins-Hart’s 40 years of educational experience includes teaching taught 9th grade English and serving as principal of a middle school.
“The most important job in the world is the classroom teacher,” she said at a public forum for finalists last month.
McKenzie said the district’s three main goals for the new superintendent are student achievement, continuing professional development, and community and parent engagement.
“We are confident that we have the very best leadership in place to further enhance academic achievement and support those who are closet to our students,” Desiree Whitlock, Hazelwood school board president, told media on Monday.
Collins-Hart’s appointment comes after the debt-crippled school district came under public scrutiny when it suddenly announced major budget cuts for the 2016-2017 school year due to an approximately $15 million deficit. The cutbacks included laying-off several teacher and administrative positions, eliminating band and orchestra from elementary schools during regular school hours, eliminating field trip funding, and reducing PE classes to once a week.
Collins-Hart’s current school district faced a $14 million deficit and broke even in just a couple years after she began superintending. After multiple staff reductions, Collins-Hart’s salary managed to survive the sweeping budget cuts. For the 2014-2015 school year, she made a salary over $241,000, with $9,000 in annuities and over $20,500 in benefits.
Hazelwood’s last superintendent made $230,000. The current interim superintendent makes almost $205,000.
Details of Collins-Hart’s contract with the Hazelwood School District have not been released to media, but the agreement, which includes Hart’s salary, has been signed.
During a public forum last month, Collins-Hart stressed a concern for improving students’ tests scores and said the district should look for local help rather than turn to the state.
“In many ways legislatures are creating policies that impact education without input from educators.” Hart said. “We have to be better advocates for what we want in schools. We need to not look to the state. We need to look to the local. We need to look to the educators of your schools and your school communities to provide the state some guidance.”
When asked why Collins-Hart was selected over the other finalists, McKenzie said that community feedback was taken into careful consideration. She said the board “wanted to make sure the community had involvement this time around and they wanted to make sure this person would be in it for the long-haul.”
