Randy Weseman is impatient with the pace of Lawrence school students’ academic progress.

He’s relieved the school board tackles controversial issues.

Supt. Randy Weseman is celebrating his two-year anniversary of being head of Lawrence Public Schools. Weseman says schools have made strides in improvement but have the potential to improve even more.

He’s angry about the state’s wavering financial support of districts.

And, yes, he’s delighted to be superintendent of Lawrence schools headaches and all.

“I love this job. It’s a hard job. It’s a 24/7 job and the job I want,” Weseman said.

Weseman worked in the district a quarter century before he was named superintendent two years ago.

He said his job was like an orchestra conductor’s, except there were 2,000 musicians in the orchestra, the players were scattered among 25 concert locations and there was an audience of 10,000 students.

Weseman’s task is to get everybody playing music from the same page.

“It is an orchestra,” he said. “You work with each section on their part. If they do their parts well when they perform, we’ll produce beautiful music together.”

Sue Morgan, school board president, worked as closely with Weseman as anyone in the district for the past year. She said she came away convinced Weseman was the right person for the times in Lawrence.

“I think he has the combination of talents that we needed,” Morgan said.

Weseman replaced Kathleen Williams, who came to Lawrence from Illinois but didn’t stay long enough to get her car licensed in Kansas. Eighteen months after arrival, Williams was packing for a job near Chicago.

While here, Williams convened a community gathering in which the district’s key educational objectives were put down on paper. The chosen goals were to make the district “student-centered,” recruit quality faculty, expand use of technology and involve the community in refining goals.

Morgan said the mission statement sounded great but wasn’t being put into practice.

“We needed somebody to translate our articulated objectives into action,” she said. “I think we were fumbling in terms of how to get there.”

She said Weseman was able to enact these broad goals by taking a systematic approach to problem-solving.

Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, said Weseman had provided valuable insight into ways of improving state education policy.

“He is a progressive thinker in helping me frame legislative initiatives to reduce bureaucratic paperwork required by the state,” Sloan said.

Holli Joyce, a longtime Pinckney School volunteer who has children in the Lawrence district, supported Weseman’s appointment two years ago. Nothing has changed her mind.

She appreciates his willingness to be accessible to people and that he seeks input from a variety of sources.

“Two years in, especially given the cards he was dealt, he has done an exceptional job,” Joyce said.

Restructuring

In the summer of 2000, Weseman first shook up the administrative structure. He eliminated more than a dozen jobs. That showed it wouldn’t be business as usual.

Weseman credits “flattening” the organizational structure with improving communication among teachers, principals, administrators and families.

The district’s policy manual was rewritten and school security elevated.

“We had a very safe year,” he said, “and we’re working to refine that.”

A budget review process started by Weseman turned out better than expected. A committee was set up to review new spending proposals and existing programs to determine if they were worth keeping.

Weseman’s rallying cry: “If it’s not producing results, why then are we doing it?”

That evaluation process became prominent during the school board’s deliberations this spring to make $3 million in spending cuts and fee hikes.

Weseman said he wasn’t satisfied with gains in student academic performance. There have been bright spots, but advances have been inconsistent.

“I have very high expectations,” he said. “We’re not at the level I want to be. Test scores will go up.”

Quality, not speed

Weseman’s approach to business is evident in consultants’ study of district facilities. DLR Group, an Overland Park consulting firm, was brought in to create a blueprint for improving academic opportunities at all schools.

Weseman said a master plan for school consolidation, renovation and construction should meet the community’s needs for 10 years or more.

Though the study hasn’t gone as quickly as Weseman would like, he said, speed is less important than doing a good job.

“We’re using a consensus-building process,” he said.

DLR Group is expected to present recommendations this summer.

Weseman said he was proud the school board agreed to delve into an issue guaranteed to generate intense debate.

“This is a significant, long-term master plan,” Weseman said. “It will benefit kids for a long time.”

Weseman said the facilities study should be completed this fall. A bond issue vote will occur in late 2002 or early 2003.

Weseman said he also planned to spend more time opening communication channels with the public. He said he also expected to be more visible in school classrooms. And the district’s teachers will receive more professional training than in the past.

Weseman said he also was concerned about the possibility of budget cuts. If state revenue shortfalls continue, public school districts might not get appropriations promised by lawmakers.

Weseman said the district would remain true to its mission.

“That boils down to what is best for students,” he said.

Weseman, 52, said he could remain happy as Lawrence superintendent for a decade.

“I’m healthy,” he said. “I get energized by solving problems. My vision is to take the school district to a higher standard of excellence. Then I can see maintaining that … before handing it off to someone.”