IN THE acclaimed 2010 documentary film “Waiting for Superman,” the many failings of the U.S. education system were laid bare, with the title referring to the countless American school children waiting for the “Superman” who can save them.

The same can also be said for the public school system here on Guam which is still waiting for its own “Superman” to rescue it from many decades of disrepair and lackluster performance.

In our case we are literally waiting for our “Superman” – Jon Fernandez, the designated savior of the Guam Department of Education, who still has to arrive on the island and formally take over his post.

The vote for Jon Fernandez to be the new GDOE superintendent more than a month ago was unanimous. According to board chairman Francis Santos, Fernandez's background was the most impressive of the three top candidates vying for the superintendent job.

Fernandez’s credentials are impressive indeed. Academically, he’s Ivy League all the way with a master's from Harvard’s prestigious Kennedy School of Government and later attending law school at Georgetown University.

As for his previous jobs, Fernandez is more of a technocrat, with his last post being the managing director of the Federal City Council in Washington D.C., an organization of civic leaders that basically works to help public officials get the job done.

While I am sure Fernandez did a great job there, his new job running the perennially problematic Guam Department of Education can be quite daunting. Whatever challenges he conquered in D.C. would pale beside the overwhelming trials now facing him.

From money problems, to poor student performance, and dilapidated facilities, GDOE has failed in almost every provision of the Adequate Education Act despite the department assuming the largest share of the government of Guam’s annual budget.

All of which begs the question: Can one man, Superman or not, be enough to turn around the Guam Department of Education?

In the long run, cosmetic changes like a simple change of management at GDOE may not do. The whole system must be overhauled, with units and personnel who are not performing booted out unceremoniously in line with Gov. Eddie Calvo’s call for more accountability.

If the problem at GDOE is systemic in nature, then we must also call into question the huge amount that GDOE will be paying Fernandez. The same goes for that other malfunctioning GovGuam unit – the Guam Memorial Hospital – which just hired a new chief executive officer whose salary even tops that of Fernandez.

Some education leaders have already stated for the record that Fernandez’s big compensation may be put to better use elsewhere. Ditto for the hospital’s incoming CEO Joseph Verga.

Shouldn’t there be performance benchmarks to measure just how these two new hires will do? All we’re hearing about their respective contracts so far are the provisions on compensation and executive “perks.” But what if Fernandez and Verga prove to be “lemons,” or at the very least can’t turn their agencies around as is expected of them? Is there a provision in their contracts which protects GovGuam? Can GDOE and GMH adjust their mammoth salaries according to their performance? Can they be let go if they do not deliver?

With these two executives now about to take on the helm of the two most problematic GovGuam agencies, the two skills sets they must add to their repertoire are knowledge of finance as well as political awareness; for if there is one issue that has recurred through the hospital and the public school system over the years, it’s the money problem.

Fernandez and Verga must also develop some degree of political smarts, for they will be operating in two of the most politicized agencies under the government of Guam, with their own peculiarities and rhythms, and where local connections count a lot.

Some have said hiring locally for these executive positions, preferably insiders within the agencies, would have been better since they would hit the ground running and not waste valuable time surveying working environments that are new to them.

Indeed, it has been said that the two other finalists who Fernandez beat – interim Deputy Superintendent Robert Malay and former Sen. David Shimizu – separately represent the two traits that many see as necessary to succeed as GDOE superintendent, with Malay being the insider and Shimizu being the ultimate politician.

Still, being off-island nominees, Fernandez and Verga could bring a fresh perspective to the job and not do things the way they have always been done.

Remember, we’ve had insiders and politicians run both the hospital and the public school system before and the problems still persisted.

Perhaps it would take an outsider to bring in a new approach to solving the problems at GDOE and the hospital. Let’s hope the two new hires succeed.