The Primary Factors Increasing Superintendent Tenure in the Urban Southwestern United States

It appears that superintendent turnover has become an accepted occurrence in districts across the country. Governing boards have resigned themselves to the idea that sustained district leadership is not realistic. There is a growing idea that good educational leaders, who are willing to endure the political landscape and the roller coaster ride that is school accountability and funding, are becoming a thing of the past. The best school communities can hope for is a leader who will come in for a few years, make incidental change, and then move on to retirement, other educational opportunities, or another school district. This study was designed to examine the factors that increase superintendent tenure in the Urban Southwestern United States. School districts were identified by having a superintendent who remained in the position for 5 years of longer between 2000 and 2010. Those superintendents and the governing board members with whom each worked were examined using a multi-method research approach of surveys/questionnaires and follow-up, in-depth interviews. This study revealed that the average tenure in these urban southwestern school districts was above average at 8.75 years. There were several factors that emerged as important to the superintendent and governing board relationship, which may have led to the increased tenure of the district leader. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]