Tulsa superintendent wants to stay awhile

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Tulsa's in-demand school superintendent says he intends on sticking around a long while. "I anticipate being in Tulsa for the next five to 10 years," Superintendent John Thompson

Friday, February 4th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Tulsa's in-demand school superintendent says he intends on sticking around a long while. "I anticipate being in Tulsa for the next five to 10 years," Superintendent John Thompson said Thursday.

Thompson was one of two finalists last month for the job of chief executive of Detroit's public schools. Every school board member voted for him, but the governor's appointee to the board had veto power and exercised it amid protests from the board and city. Now, Thompson is waiting for the Tulsa school board to present a formal offer for a new contract.

His current three-year contract was the first of its kind, coming after a state law that limited a superintendent's contract to just one year was changed. "Our district is becoming well-known nationally," he said. "We have so many things on the cutting edge, and we're about to take a quantum leap. I would hate walking off."

Thompson opened the negotiations in early January with his version of a proposed contract, and the contract committee countered with another proposal, board members have previously said. The two sides must agree on a salary and whether to enter into another multiyear contract, an issue that may be debated among school board members.

Thompson acknowledged that he has visited other districts. He takes phone calls from search firms, and he has had visitors in Tulsa. But "I never look," he said. "One thing about superintendents today, especially with the fact that I'm the most senior African-American superintendent in the country, you don't have to look. They come looking for you."