LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The first part of superintendent is “super,” which is what the late Dr. William “Bill” Cornelison was as superintendent of the Middletown and Konocti unified school districts and through three terms as Lake County’s superintendent of schools.
Metaphorically speaking, Cornelison, who died on Jan. 29 at age 78 after a sudden and brief illness, also was the last word in the education of Lake County.
There are buildings that were constructed during his 27 years (1979-2006) of school administration in the county, academic leaders who have Cornelison to thank for their fine tuning, and organizations that are productive (and not necessarily educational) owing their existence or continued growth to Dr. Bill.
Credit Dennis Euken as a man of vision. He was one of four men – the only one still alive – who interviewed, then recommended Cornelison for Middletown’s superintendent position in 1979.
Up to that time, Cornelison had served as an administrator at several California schools.
Euken, Bill Hecomovich, George Hoberg and Bill Johnson soon knew that their man was the right one to settle issues involving teachers and parents.
“At the time we were having a little contract problem with our teachers and we found that he had to get right into the thick of it ,” said Euken.
“He was one of those guys who’d read it through his ears before he started opening his mouth,” said Euken. “That’s the kind of person you want as superintendent of schools. That way you get along with and get along with teachers and don’t let any fires start.”
As it developed, a foul up by the teachers ended their picketing.
“One morning they had a picket out front and they had their picket signs,” Euken said. “One teacher had spelled teacher wrong. That upset a lot of people in town, who said they want a raise and they can’t even spell teacher … They should get back in the classroom.”
Cornelison ushered the Middletown district through its largest growth cycle. Euken put the total number of students at about 350 when Cornelison came to the district in 1979 and four times that when he moved on to Konocti in 1986. Much of the growth was attributed to the district’s thermal industry.
Through the intense growth period, said Voris Brumfield, then closely associated with the school district, “Bill guided the (Middletown School) Board through hiring staff, building a new gymnasium, library and science buildings.”
“Bill was quite a leader in Middletown,” said Wally Holbrook who was the superintendent for the Kelseyville school district when Cornelison was at Middletown and retired last year as Lake County superintendent of schools.
“He had an excellent reputation, not just for being an administrator but an educational leader. The reason we remember him so fondly is that he really did focus on students, and his programs and services made a difference for students,” said Holbrook.
“He probably has had an impact on more educators in this area than people would realize,” Holbrook added. “At his memorial services there were probably 10 superintendents who would attribute their growth to somehow having Bill help guide them in their growth as a superintendent.”
People didn’t know much about what Cornelison did or tried to do because he was not inclined to talk about it.
Few knew, for instance, that Cornelison studied for the priesthood after his graduation from San Bernardino High School class of 1954.
Cornelison’s son Jon, who works in the high tech industry, talks about the organizations to which his father lent his acumen.
“He started an organization called ‘CASH,’ the Coalition for Adequate School Housing,’” said Jon. It’s a big organization that he started in the '80s that inspects buildings and facilities.”
Cornelison’s daughter Kristi Williams, a registered nurse, remembered that he would donate his free days to riding the Clearlake Transit system.
“He would just sit on the bus and ride it all day long and talk to parents, asking them what they would do to improve the school system,” she said.
“He liked to go to every single graduation and meet the parents,” said Williams.
“I never went with him – I wish I had,” she added.
Her father, Williams said, was “always there” for the family.
“He was never not there,” she said.
Email John Lindblom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .