Seattle School District Stumbles, Risks Falling
For everybody who wanted to know the names of the finalists for the superintendent position, we now, thanks to a school district goof, know at least one of the names:
From the Seattle Times this morning, School district lets slip one candidate's name for top job, we learn:
Note to Seattle School Board members --- when you are moving fast, you are more like to stumble. And when you stumble, you risk falling.
From the PI (Decision on school chief is near), we learn:
How "open" and "public" a meeting can you have when it is a last minute, poorly publicized event taking place during spring break when many families are out of town? Is public testimony going to be accepted? It doesn't appear so from the April 12, 2007 Special Meeting Agenda.
From the Seattle Times this morning, School district lets slip one candidate's name for top job, we learn:
...the packet given to reporters when Thornton came to town Thursday contained a news release that stated that Topeka Public Schools Superintendent W.L. (Tony) Sawyer was a finalist along with Thornton, not Goodloe-Johnson.
...Sawyer, who worked as head of secondary schools in a New York City borough before taking the job in Topeka, said Wednesday that he withdrew for personal reasons before the board decided on finalists.
...Patti Spencer, district spokeswoman, wouldn't comment on whether Sawyer had been the choice over Goodloe-Johnson. Because the board was moving fast, district staff members prepared more than one release, she said.
Note to Seattle School Board members --- when you are moving fast, you are more like to stumble. And when you stumble, you risk falling.
From the PI (Decision on school chief is near), we learn:
The School Board plans a closed-door meeting today to discuss the two finalists, Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson, superintendent of the Charleston County (S.C.) Schools, and Gregory Thornton, chief academic officer at the School District of Philadelphia. After that meeting, the board plans to convene an open public meeting at 2:30 p.m. to discuss and possibly make final the decision.
How "open" and "public" a meeting can you have when it is a last minute, poorly publicized event taking place during spring break when many families are out of town? Is public testimony going to be accepted? It doesn't appear so from the April 12, 2007 Special Meeting Agenda.
Comments
Sadly, they (communications dept) and some of the board's own staff do a lot of this kind of thing. They're nice nice people, but IMHO they are over their heads and have been for a pretty long time. Sounds cruel, but for everyone's sake, they should be in different positions than they are.
You just have to wince for the board - they couldn't design this (spring break 180 from previously published process, much-abbreviated public input window, and no-notice public meeting to announce) for a worse public relations effect. You just want to put them out of our misery - and their own.
What I was trying to say, though not very clearly, was that the School Board should learn from the mistake, even if it wasn't their doing.
The end of this superintendent hiring process is making the School Board (and the School District) look incompetent, oblivious to public opinion, and politically inept.
As someone who has tried to work with this distric, and been frustrated by this board for years, as I have and I know all the contributors have, why do any of you really think they care about WHAT any of the parents think about anything?
Unless they are loud and throwing things, of course.