Kapsa already used to "daily surprises" as interim superintendent

by Kelli Cheatham (kcheatham@wsbt.com)

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South Bend Schools Superintendent Jim Kapsa (WSBT photo)

By WSBT News1

Story Created: Aug 12, 2008 at 4:28 AM EST

Story Updated: Aug 12, 2008 at 7:07 AM EST

SOUTH BEND — Thousands of local students are heading back to school Tuesday. It's the first day of class in both South Bend and Mishawaka. One thing that's different from last year in South Bend is schools are under brand new leadership.

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We sat down with interim superintendent Jim Kapsa to talk about his goals, his first few months as the district's leader and the challenges he's facing.

There is at least one thing the interim superintendent has learned to expect from his job — "daily surprises," he told WSBT.

In fact, he said at first, he did not know he was stepping into the middle of contract negotiations with the district's 39 independent bus drivers.

"The most difficult [thing about the job] is maybe not having a history of certain items," he explained. "So it causes me to do a lot of research before I can come up with a decision."

Kapsa also claims until recently, he did not realize just how much the Circuit Breaker Law and House Bill 1001 would fuel his biggest challenge — passing the district's budget.

"It's going to be a major problem for us," Kapsa said. "Everything is going to be on the table on that. [The budget] drives what are some of the projects we intend to do throughout the corporation this year."

But he said some of his work will be in the classroom. Kapsa plans to add study tables, tutoring and after school programs to help improve ISTEP scores. Those are numbers that lag well behind state averages.

Kapsa will also work with the Juvenile Justice Center and school offices on one of his personal goals — cutting back on truancy and tardies.

"[I will be] contacting the homes, working with the parents, having parent conferences with the administrators and the students and the relatives," he said.

Kapsa said he is also using some advice from an acquaintance, Dr. Robert Zimmerman, the district's former superintendent.

"Pretty much be ready for surprises. And I've found that to be true. Don't panic," he added.

Kapsa said he is in the office every day by 5:10 a.m. He met with school bus drivers early Tuesday morning at the bus terminal, and wished them good luck.

He plans to spend most of the day visiting schools.

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