Licensee Badge
Submitted by James22 on
in

Forums

BLUF: Need help coming to terms/grips with an office move from a very comfortable office/building for me personally (kids, history, etc.) with a lot of autonomy to a central office literally right next door to MY boss.

I am the CIO of a school district in New England (4 schools). I have a fantastic team that gets great results. Our surveys are off the charts (99%, etc.), the school principals, faculty, and students appreciate what we do. I follow Peter High's World Class IT principles and of course Manager Tools. I have been in this position for 6 years (4 years previous as a tech in the same building before the promotion to CIO). I have a comfortable, roomy office in the High School of the district adjoining my sysadmin and one of my techs. My other techs are located in the other schools.

For 2 years, our Superintendent of the last 4 years has been trying to get me to move down to the central office where all the other district administrators are located (the Super, CFO, Special Ed Director, etc.). I have resisted each time and eventually he gives up, or at least stops mentioning it. However, last week, he sat me down and said he is no longer "asking" and I "will" be down there on July 1. The central office is located in the same town as the school I am at, however, I have a young elementary student in the building where I work and another right behind her. I like all the "creature comforts" of being where I am. My wife is also a teacher in the school. He is offering me one of the biggest offices in the central office albeit a little smaller than my current one at the high school.

His reasoning is flattering: He leans on me for so many of his strategic decisions, I am a very visible part of our district success to the Board and the public, limitless potential, great handle on education although I've never been a classroom teacher, etc. Obviously, my military background enabled me to salute and not argue with him, I am resigned to it. Heck, part of me is looking at is a change of scenery after being in the same building for the last ten years.

The CFO says it will be "good for my career", which I thought was weird because I am not considering ever becoming a Superintendent or anything. My main concern is this: This current Superintendent and me get along GREAT. He has been an awesome mentor, I have learned a lot, and have produced some great results largely from his tenure. However, what about the next Super? I am considerably younger than our current one. I doubt he will be around much longer (2-4 years), he is near or at retirement age. I am worried that if the next Super comes in and he/she is a "bad one" I'll be much more "visible" alright.

Has anyone else gone through something similar? Thanks for your insights.