Mike Wolanin | The Republic Newly named Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation Superintendent Chad Phillips, center, and his wife Nichole, right, talks with Columbus Mayor Mary Ferdon during a community reception to meet the new superintendent at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Monday, April 29, 2024.
Chad Phillips was welcomed as Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp.’s new superintendent at a Monday reception before the BCSC school board unanimously voted the current assistant superintendent for financial services to the top job, effective July 1.
“Columbus is special because of our aspiration to be the best community of its size in the country,” Phillips said after his appointment was approved. “… Columbus is special because people here understand that mediocrity is more expensive than doing things the right way from the start. Columbus is special because this is where people come together from all over the world to live, work and raise their families.”
Phillips will replace Jim Roberts, who will move on to a new role as vice president of the Community Education Coalition. Roberts had been superintendent for eight years, the fourth longest tenure in BCSC history.
BCSC officials and community members met for a reception before the start of the school board meeting in the Columbus North High School cafeteria, where the 2024 IDOE RISE Classified Staff Award-winner Twanette Miller and this years’ BCSC Classified Employees of the Year were also recognized.
Phillips said that sort of outpouring of support for the recognized employees and himself sets BCSC apart.
“That is just not the norm, that’s unique,” Phillips said. “And it shows how much the relationship between the school district and the community are intertwined.”
Several school board members spoke to The Republic about why they believe Phillips to be the person for the superintendent’s job and what sorts of opportunities and challenges they foresee during his tenure.
Phillips’ attention to detail, particularly regarding his use of data, was one characteristic that appealed to school board members during the search process.
“As an engineer, those things are important to me to understand the data, to look at the trends in history to be able to predict what the future will look like,” school board member Jason Major said.
Board President Nikki Wheeldon said she had been impressed by Phillips in his role as an administrator and called him a “proven educator,” and “family person.”
“On a regular basis, I’ve seen that in contract negotiations and other actions, he’s a very well-rounded individual for this position.” Wheeldon said.
Phillips is finishing up his 20th year at BCSC. He was assistant principal at Central Middle School, social studies department chair at Columbus North and principal at CSA Lincoln.
Board member Dale Nowlin said Phillips “understands the importance of multiple pathways,” and the uniqueness of the district.
Nowlin had known Phillips back when he was the social studies chair at North and Nowlin was math chair.
“He’s been involved in our schools at multiple levels, secondary high school, middle school, elementary, central office,” Nowlin said. “So he knows the schools, but not only does he know the community, the community knows him.”
Being ingrained within BCSC for so long will be an advantage in the role, Phillips and other BCSC officials said.
“We are a really complex organization,” Phillips said. “… Knowing the facilities, knowing the people who lead those facilities, knowing the dynamics between the two high schools and their relationship with CSA and all of that— I would feel sorry for someone coming in new as superintendent.”
Guiding Envision 2030, BCSC’s $306 million facilities plan, as it comes to fruition will be another notable undertaking.
“It’s a massive investment and it’s very complex and it will take a long time,” Wheeldon said. “There are a lot of decisions in front of us, we’ve made a big one to even go down that path. But there’s so many more to be made. We’re also going to need to think about our tax referendum in the future, he was a big part of us getting that in the first place.”
Phillips comes to the role amid concerns over groups of students struggling to reach basic levels of proficiency in subjects including math and reading.
Major mentioned he hopes to see the development of something like a scorecard that can be used to assess how the school corporation was doing and also referenced Phillips’ tenure at CSA Lincoln where the school went from an “F” performance grade in 2010 to consecutive “A’s” in 2014 and 2015.
“Right now you have the opportunity to see the school corporation perform significantly better than the state, and it doesn’t take that much,” Major said. “We’re a little bit below, but when people think about BCSC and they put BCSC on a pedestal, why are they putting (BCSC) on a pedestal— is it because the buildings look nicer or because the students perform? And not just some students, all students, so that’s what’s important to me.”
In his capacity as assistant superintendent for financial services, Phillips was heavily involved during the operating referendum passed in 2020 and the issuance of bonds used to fund Envision 2030, something board members viewed as a significant asset.
“He’s very disciplined, he’s very data-driven. I think that’s one thing that we would like to see more of is just where are we at on certain metrics,” board member Logan Schulz said. “He seems to be someone who champions getting the teachers and administrators together, like he did with the referendum. And he’s always willing to explain it, which I appreciate. That’s a hard area to explain to people, but he’s always willing to come alongside you and explain it.”
As for his first order of business, Phillips said his priority is finding a replacement for Human Resources Director Gina Pleak, who is departing BCSC to become superintendent of New Palestine Community Schools.
“So that’s priority number one, getting the right people in any opening that we have in critical spots like that,” Phillips said. “… I have to spend some time making sure we focus on what the truly most important things are that we’re going to work on in the next few months, and working with Dr. Roberts to have a terrific end to the school year and end to his career at BCSC.”
Phillips is a graduate of Purdue University and Indiana University. Before joining BCSC, Phillips taught social studies at Lebanon Senior High School, managed overnight shifts at the Kirby Risk Service Center in Lafayette and served in the United States Marine Corps.
