NB School District Mystery Man
Joe Garza, man of mystery:
Joe Garza joined the New Berlin School District in 2007. On May 10, 2011, the New Berlin School District announced the hiring of Garza, the current Assistant Superintendent, to that of Superintendent. It also conveyed that he’d accepted a 2-yr. contract beginning July 1, with a salary of $150,000, but provided no further bio information.
The autocratic NB School Board hired Garza to be Superintendent, without involving the community in that selection process. Bypassing the public is not the way to garner the people's support or trust.
On May 13, 2011, I sent an email to Dr. Kreutzer and Joe Garza notifying them that readers of my blog had been asking questions about Garza. I asked them to share biographical information---specifically Garza’s educational background and previous work experience. I also asked what Garza had been offered in financial compensation (salary and benefits) for the New Berlin Superintendent position. I said the community would like to know more about Mr. Garza and I’d be happy to communicate the information on my blog.
I did not get a reply to that email.
Joe Garza was put in charge of children’s education, yet the District/Board has conveyed so little about the man. How odd. Click on the New Berlin District website, go to the District Administration page. You’ll see Garza’s photo, his position, email address and District Office phone # listed. But nothing else about him.
Compare it to the Muskego-Norway District/Board's practices:
Go to the Muskego-Norway website, click on "District Offices" and then " Superintendent" . You’ll see this Superintendent Profile of current Superintendent Joe Schroeder:
Superintendent Profile
Dr. Joe Schroeder, superintendent for Muskego-Norway Schools, is an educational leader dedicated to student success and organizational quality, who has been recognized as an award-winning teacher, principal, and district administrator. As superintendent, Dr. Schroeder led Muskego-Norway to its receipt of a 2010 Wisconsin Forward Award, only the third K-12 district to ever receive the distinction in the history of this statewide organizational quality program.
More recently, Dr. Schroeder was also named Wisconsin’s 2011 Superintendent of the Year.
Prior to beginning as Muskego-Norway’s superintendent in July of 2007, Dr. Schroeder was a teacher or administrator in several other districts in Wisconsin as well as one in Arizona. Immediately prior to assuming his M-N post, Dr. Schroeder worked in the Elmbrook School District (Brookfield, WI) for eight years, where he served both as assistant superintendent for educational services and as principal ofBrookfield East High School. Dr. Schroeder has earned three degrees (BS,MS, and PhD) from the University of Wisconsin and remains an ardent fan of both UW and Muskego-Norway teams.
Outside of work, Dr. Schroeder has varied interests to include athletics, the arts, and travel. His wife, Annie, and he are celebrating their third decade of marriage.
The Muskego-Norway School Board hired Dr. Kelly M. Thompson as its next Superintendent. There's information about her on the website, including her educational background (BS, MS, PhD degrees) Note that she served 19 years with the Muskego-Norway District in various educational roles.
I’d also like to point out that Muskego-Norway involved staff, parents and the community in their search for a Superintendent to replace Dr. Schroeder. See NOW Community Watch article. That district conducted an online survey to determine the most important desired characteristics for the new superintendent. Click here to read what the Muskego-Norway website communicates about it.
I guess District of New Berlin administration and School Board thought parents and District residents didn't deserve to know the background of the person put in charge of the District or be involved in his selection.
Did you think the “Mystery Man” in the blog title alluded to Jeffrey Kurth, who was elected to the New Berlin School Board in April? As we know, school board members make decisions that affect children’s education and our tax dollars. Kurth ran unopposed. There were not any candidate debates or campaign fliers dispersed in our community telling us anything about Kurth or his views. No letters to the editor, either. The local newspaper merely reported his name and address. I previously pointed out that even NBCRG’s NOW blog, which conveys that NBCRG recruits and endorses candidates for public office and its mission is to inform the public, chose to communicate nothing about Kurth. The District of New Berlin Website’s Board of Education page carries no photo or biography of Kurth.
Do a google search and you’ll learn there’s a Jeffrey Kurth who is a ballroom dance instructor at Casa di Danza in New Berlin. Is that the man now serving on the New Berlin School Board? If so, Dancer’s Dateline is a source for some information about him.
