From the Desk of: Mr. Jeff Kuhns

On the recommendation of a colleague, I recently began listening to the book, Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara. Guidara is in the restaurant management business but has some excellent points on leadership in any type of organization. One of my takeaways is this quote which I have contemplated for a week or so:

“I’m also clear about what my job is, which is to do what’s best for the restaurant, not to do what’s best for any of you. More often than not, what’s best for the restaurant will include doing what’s best for you. But the only way I can take care of all of you as individuals is by always putting the restaurant first.”

Rephrased for me:

I’m also clear about what my job is, which is to do what’s best for the District, not to do what’s best for any of you. More often than not, what’s best for the District will include doing what’s best for you. But the only way I can take care of all of you as individuals is by always putting the District first.

This was a painful quote for me to entertain. One facet that makes it even more painful is that I fully expect that my granddaughter will go through this system. Calming my anxiety required putting the quote in the perspective of what defines the District. The District isn’t a building or the administrative team or the school board or my own ego. The District is an aggregation of many things: Students, employees, community members. As well as, the culture, the traditions and the history that comes along with that. The District is a system to fuel the future success of our students and launch them into the world as a productive, taxpaying, citizenry.

Many of you are aware that over the last several months, the District has been undergoing a comprehensive feasibility study. The purpose of that study was so that we could prioritize the facilities' needs and begin planning how to proceed in addressing them. In addition to this option to address all of the deficiencies that the study uncovered, the firm completing the study also provided some options that may prove more cost effective to the District.

I believe that we have an obligation to be good stewards of taxpayer money, and I also feel that we have a responsibility to our students and families to provide equitable opportunities to quality education and services. As the superintendent, I must be the one that can see through both lenses, the financial and the instructional, and determine that an ‘and’ situation exists and not an ‘or’ situation. ‘Are we going to do what is right financially OR are we going to do what’s best for learning?’ You have my word that I will not support any option that doesn’t answer the question, ‘Is this what is right for the District?’ Refer to my definition of what that means above.

I have said it publicly before and I will continue to say it: I did not come to West Perry to close schools. Although I have not said this part publicly, I also believe that the Board didn’t enter into an agreement for a feasibility study with that intention either.

I’ll conclude with another quote from Will Guidara’s book: “To do something with intentionality means to do it thoughtfully, with clear purpose and an eye on the desired result.” I can assure you that whatever comes out of our feasibility study, next steps will be done with intentionality.

Guidara, W. (2022). Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect. Penguin Press.