Purser, one of two finalists for the superintendent position in the Moore County school system, began her all-day interview with community members by addressing central office employees and principals at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
She said her first task if she becomes Moore County’s superintendent will be to learn.
“I’m a learner first,” she said. “I thrive on learning, so we would begin with you helping me learn about Moore County, learn about the challenges we’re facing, and then focus on being able to work together to develop the plans to move forward.”
Throughout the day, Purser met with administrators, teachers, business leaders, parents and superintendent search committee members. Her busy day also included a three-hour tour of Moore County, which included a stop at Robbins Elementary School.
Through it all, Purser was at ease whether she was answering questions about her resemblance to first lady Laura Bush or the possibility of taking a job in a county that is divided over who the next school leader should be.
Dr. Leonard McIntyre, the school board’s other finalist for the position, will participate in the same process today. He is currently a deputy superintendent with the South Carolina Department of Education.
Sally Ward, director of accountability for the schools, had a favorable impression of Purser, who is now superintendent of the Pontotoc (Miss.) City School District.
“We talked a little bit about data,” Ward said. “I appreciated the fact that she’s had some experience with Charlotte-Mecklenburg, so the North Carolina accountability model is not new to her.”
Purser visited the Moore County Chamber of Commerce to meet with business leaders and fielded several questions about the relationship between the business community and the schools.
She said she would plan to visit area businesses and learn how she could further the “already great relationship” between education and business that exists in the county.
“It’s a relationship that is vital to all of us,” she said, adding that building a lifelong relationship with the business community is important whether a school system is in a large or small community.
“My husband and I have a great deal of joy working in the community we serve right now,” she said. “It’s with mixed emotions that we think about leaving, but we’re excited about a great new opportunity.”
Tim Lea, who serves on the Chamber board and chaired the search committee, asked Purser why she wanted to come to Moore County.
“I saw a school district that I would like to work in,” she said. “It’s high-performing and is full of challenges. We would not be satisfied with being one of the best in North Carolina. I want to move from good to great and from great to greater.”
Purser, who worked in Charlotte from 1996 to 1999, said she also has family reasons for wanting to return to North Carolina.
“We left North Carolina for family reasons,” she explained. “My father’s health was not good, and I was fortunate to find that position on Pontotoc.
“I have one daughter moving to Wilmington this summer and another in Greensboro. I see this as blending career and family.”
‘Great Opportunity’
Throughout the day, Purser fielded questions about how she would deal with healing a community that has been dealing with controversial school issues. She said the healing would have to start within the school system because the people charged with delivering an education to children are the educators themselves.
“It’s very hard to help heal a community if you haven’t done the healing inside,” she said. “It’s like being on an airplane. They tell you when the little masks drop down that the first thing you have to do is put your own mask on and then you can assist someone else.”
She said the controversies and displeasure people have expressed with the school board won’t discourage her from coming to Moore County.
“What I really saw today was that people here have passion,” she said. “I think passion is something good to build on. It doesn’t discourage me at all.
“It just shows me that there’s a great opportunity to work with people. When people will come out and put their feelings on the table, then we will have an opportunity to work together. When people just go home, close their doors and clam up, we don’t have a chance.”
The Board of Education voted Monday to scrap its local accountability model, which had been in place since 1997. Purser offered her feelings on accountability.
“Certainly, how children perform on certain measures is one piece of it,” she said. “I think that frequently, we have forgotten that we’re really there for children. We’re really there for learning. Achievement is really just one small factor in what takes place during learning. I believe strongly in extracurricular programs. … We’re missing the fine-tuned, personal relationship aspect of education when we focus on the numbers. The more we focus on the numbers, the further we get away from the fine touches of really educating people.”
Purser also addressed questions about her management style and disciplining of employees.
“If I have a staff member that is not meeting expectations, then I would suggest that we need to meet privately about that,” she said. “There is no justice served by creating public examples or anything such as that. I’m about people building people up, not chopping them off at the knees. We need to start out by defining roles, responsibilities and expectations.”
She said conflicts often develop over misunderstandings about responsibilities.
“That’s why that dialogue has got to be open,” she said. “I’m not wishy-washy, but I’m open.”
‘A Wonderful Applicant’
Marci Houseman, a music teacher and mother of three, was one of about 20 superintendent search committee members to visit with Purser Tuesday evening. At Monday’s school board meeting, Houseman had emotionally criticized the board’s decision not to include Deputy Superintendent Larry Upchurch as a finalist.
“My feelings about the board’s decision haven’t changed,” she said. “But I was impressed by her and I think she is a wonderful applicant. I’m pleased with many of the things she said.
“As a teacher, I liked many of the things she said, especially the fact that she’s willing to be open to many forms of assessment. I feel there’s entirely too much pressure on end-of-grade testing. During the (current) superintendency, I felt there was incredible pressure on testing. As a parent I appreciated her vision for the arts. I appreciate that she feels they carry as much weight as anything else in the curriculum and that they are part of a balanced curriculum.”
Purser told the committee members that she implemented an elementary school art program with the Pontotoc City Schools and refused to consider eliminating it when a budget crunch demanded cuts.
Search committee member Norma Stillwell asked Purser about her experiences in securing a bond for school construction, which is expected to be an issue in Moore County over the coming months. Purser said she hasn’t been through a bond issue as a superintendent.
“In developing a plan, the total community needs to be served,” she said. “If it’s only serving one segment of the community, then the bond is probably not going to pass. We need to be consciously aware that we are not focusing all the resources in one area.”
Purser said she has had experiences in developing bond plans in three other school districts before she became a superintendent.
Wants the Job
Though she covered much of Moore County during the three-hour tour Tuesday morning, Purser said it didn’t feel like a whirlwind.
“It was very interesting as we made our way across the county,” she said. “It helped underscore that there are some very diverse areas in Moore County, which is really exciting.”
Purser made it clear that she intends to accept the job if it’s offered to her. Near the end of her meeting at the Chamber, Lea asked Purser point blank if she wanted the job.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m here because I would like to be the next superintendent of Moore County Schools.”
