During evaluation, Juneau school board ‘pleased’ with superintendent

The Juneau School Board overall is happy with the superintendent’s performance. That’s what the body determined after meeting in executive session for three hours during a special meeting Tuesday night.

Board President Brian Holst said an official evaluation of school superintendent Mark Miller will be made public during a regular meeting Aug. 9.

“In general, we’re pleased with him,” Holst said on the phone Thursday morning. “Any more details beyond that, we’ll produce a summary for the public for that meeting.”

Miller was hired in 2014 on a three-year contract and an annual salary of $162,000. Last year, the school board extended it for one year, so he’s currently on contract through 2018.

Holst said the board has the option to keep the contract length the same or extend it further. He and board vice-president Andi Story will meet with Miller before the Aug. 9 meeting to discuss various elements of his contract, salary potentially being one them. Any changes to Miller’s contract may require the board to meet in executive session again.

No one from the public showed up for the special meeting Wednesday night. The board began the closed-door session with Miller, Holst said. After Miller left, the board discussed the evaluation and any feedback it got from the community.

Less than 10 people took the superintendent evaluation survey that was made available on the school district website and only four completed it.

“We kind of scratched our heads,” Holst said. “We did agree to revisit the whole process, especially that piece because we got so little public input. Maybe that’s good — people aren’t worried about him, or maybe nobody knew that it was an option. Who knows?”

The school board’s next regular meeting is Tuesday, Aug. 9. The superintendent’s evaluation will summarize Miller’s strengths, areas for improvement, other observations and goals for next year.

• Contact reporter Lisa Phu at 523-2246 or lisa.phu@juneauempire.com.

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