01/29/2007

Familiar face in a new place

Former TCAPS principal at helm in Suttons Bay

By Christine Finger

cfinger@record-eagle.com

Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner
Mike Murray, former principal of Traverse City Central High School, will become superintendent of the Suttons Bay Public Schools today.

TRAVERSE CITY — Mike Murray started every day as principal at Traverse City Central High School by walking the halls with his students.

That practice won't change as Murray takes on a new role as superintendent at Suttons Bay Public Schools.

"You can't do the job just by sitting in the office and waiting for people to come to you,” Murray said as he pushed away from his desk at about 7:30 on a recent morning. "This is when I get to see a lot of people.”

Murray takes over today as the top administrator in Suttons Bay, a district where the entire student population of about 1,000 is 300 less than Central's enrollment. He'll earn $105,567 in the first year of a contract that ends in 2009.

Murray said the position offers a chance to help shape education in a community that, like Traverse City, has strong ties to its schools.

"Career wise, I should've taken this step 10 or 12 years ago,” he said. "But I was having too much fun being a building principal.”

Steve Hall, Suttons Bay school board president, said Murray's passion for curriculum and student achievement made him a good fit for the district.

"He'll make the most of what we have and help make it even better,” Hall said.

Murray replaces Jim Leyndyke, who served part time since May as Suttons Bay's interim superintendent.

Leyndyke also will serve as interim principal at Central. The two administrators have been meeting often to exchange information before switching roles.

"I've got his list going, and he's got mine going,” Leyndyke said, noting the contrast between the two jobs. "You have a little more time with superintendent decisions than with principal decisions.”

Murray, 57, followed many of his students to Central in 2003 from Traverse City East Junior High, where he'd been principal since 1992. He also spent 14 years in Germany teaching children of military and civilian personnel for the Department of Defense Dependent Schools.

Mike McManus, a social studies teacher at Central, gave Murray high marks for his philosophy on education.

"He is what teachers call an instructional leader,” McManus said. "He's interested in how kids learn and how teachers teach.”

Education isn't a one-size-fits-all business, Murray said.

"Standardization works well in factories, but not in schools,” he said. "If students aren't succeeding, you also need to take a look at the setting they're in.”

One of Murray's first jobs will be filling the district's high school principal position. Sue Rummel recently announced she'll leave that job at the end of this school year.

Also high on Murray's list of goals are strengthening ties between Suttons Bay schools and Northwestern Michigan College and continuing to fight for equity in Michigan's school funding system. He has joined in on meetings geared toward collaboration between schools in Suttons Bay, Leland, Glen Lake and Northport.

"The four districts in Leelanau County will be doing a lot of cooperation,” he said.

Murray was born in Jackson, attended high school in Ann Arbor and earned his bachelor's degree from Michigan State University. He also earned a master's degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder.

He and his wife, Christine, live on Old Mission Peninsula and plan to move to Suttons Bay. Their daughter is in her junior year at Michigan State University.