Superintendent outlines reorganization, new chief roles and participatory staffing; board approves personnel addendum

Mesa Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Strom and district leaders briefed the governing board on an organizational redesign that creates two executive chief positions to lead ‘‘systems of leadership’’ and ‘‘systems of learning,’’ and described next steps for hiring and community engagement.

Dr. Strom said the chief of schools will focus on leadership development for principals and assistant principals and will oversee six executive directors charged with localized support for regions. "The chief of school's position is essentially overseeing the systems of leadership and leadership development that we have, for our principals and for our assistant principals throughout the district," he said. The chief of academics, he said, will lead student learning systems, data and approaches for tiered instruction and special program areas.

Board members asked how the new roles differ from prior assistant superintendent and area superintendent positions and whether internal candidates who served during a decade of declining results can drive change. Dr. Strom described five domains of key performance indicators (KPIs) that will guide expectations and accountability for schools, regions and the new chiefs and noted plans to publish KPIs and job descriptions publicly. He said the district will use a phased approach to hiring the next layer of executive directors and directors and that selection processes would include large committees with representative stakeholders and smaller finalist panels; he also proposed community-based interviews to match executives to learning communities.

At the meeting the board approved a personnel request, including the addendum to create the chief roles and several executive director and director positions. The vote on the personnel request (including the addendum) passed 4–0.

District staff also described participatory staffing, a pilot for five smaller schools (Washington Elementary, Lehi, O'Connor Elementary, Kade STEM Academy at Red Mountain Ranch and Shepherd Junior High) that will invite parents, staff and other stakeholders to develop site staffing models tailored to each school's program priorities and community needs. Wing, the district staff member presenting school opportunities, said participatory staffing is designed to give local communities more influence over how a school’s allocated revenue is spent while noting the state funding environment is constrained.

Wing also updated the board on a separate planning boundary proposal tied to converting Franklin into a K–12 option and a recommended rebounding of Wilson Elementary into neighboring attendance areas. The planning and boundary committee (PABDEC) will hold three public hearings in early September; PABDEC will revisit a preliminary August recommendation on Sept. 29 and may forward a final recommendation to the governing board on Oct. 23.

Board members and staff discussed transparency, publication of job descriptions and KPIs, community engagement and protections for staff during the reorganization. Dr. Strom said the district will continue to prioritize internal placement where possible and that the hiring timeline aims to provide clarity to employees and families while enabling regional leadership to stand up in 2026–27. "We think this has great potential for developing a a really solid basis of learning communities in our in our 6 regions in the district," he said.