Enoch Out
As I previously posted, a finalist has dropped out and it is Steven Enoch. (The district decided not to tell me so I get official notice from the Times. I suspect they will drop me as media when we get a new superintendent so I will be forced to state many things off the record.)
From the Times:
“I have concluded that what Seattle needs is a younger person, potentially able to provide longer stability and direction for the district,” wrote Enoch, who will turn 63 next month. “I believe you have two very viable candidates that will better meet the long-term needs of the district.”
Enoch added he enjoyed his visit to Seattle for final interviews last week.
“I loved the tours of the schools, meeting with staff, students and community leaders,” he wrote. “I most enjoyed meeting each of you as you are all wonderful individuals, who give unselfishly so very much to the the children of Seattle.”
This is very genuine and generous of Mr. Enoch to say this but I truly believe he could see the process had been corrupted and wanted no part of it any longer. No one likes to feel like they are window-dressing for another candidate.
And so, despite all the controls and new consultants, Seattle Schools once again cannot hang on to its full complement of superintendent candidates until the end of the process.
The Board has a mammoth discussion ahead of them today in trying to decide between Husk and Banda.
From the Times:
“I have concluded that what Seattle needs is a younger person, potentially able to provide longer stability and direction for the district,” wrote Enoch, who will turn 63 next month. “I believe you have two very viable candidates that will better meet the long-term needs of the district.”
Enoch added he enjoyed his visit to Seattle for final interviews last week.
“I loved the tours of the schools, meeting with staff, students and community leaders,” he wrote. “I most enjoyed meeting each of you as you are all wonderful individuals, who give unselfishly so very much to the the children of Seattle.”
This is very genuine and generous of Mr. Enoch to say this but I truly believe he could see the process had been corrupted and wanted no part of it any longer. No one likes to feel like they are window-dressing for another candidate.
And so, despite all the controls and new consultants, Seattle Schools once again cannot hang on to its full complement of superintendent candidates until the end of the process.
The Board has a mammoth discussion ahead of them today in trying to decide between Husk and Banda.
Comments
" marry in haste, repent in leisure"
--scarred and scared
disappointed
Parent
I do think Banda might bring us a better fundamental math curriculum, a critical foundation for student success. We need this more than planting IB programs here and there. I just hope he could stand up to the ed reform crowd.
Husk is too ambitious and self serving for my taste. The ed reformers might love her but the school curricula might not get any better by the time she leaves for a better job.
S parent
I agree. In fact, I believe we lost the best candidate.
Melissa, your fair and objective reporting of the process is what did you in. You have indicated preferences, but you presented the facts first.
My sense about DeBell is that he prefers a ruler to a manager. I fear we shall be ruled by Sandy Husk aka Susan Enfield aka MGJ.
n...
You make an interesting point, but Boeche was also taken out of retirement.
Enoch is a real loss. We could have seen real innovation. I"m so disappointed.
~Public School Advocate
Signed disappointed.
Taxed to death
Go to WS Library this afternoon or email her at martha.mclaren@seattleschools.org.
Really disgusted
--tc
The special education families in the Husk and Banda district have no voice and no advocate. It is probably the same gate-keeping that goes on here. At least Enoch would have experienced something different.
Parent
TC, both Alison Krupnick and Lynne Varner say that Husk expressed support for teachers. Krupnick was not in my media group but Varner was. Husk did support teachers but so did Banda and Enoch (as reflected in my threads on each other them). I suspect this is a throw to SEA and helps Knapp with his case.
I doubt that Husk is any more supportive to teachers in her district than Enoch and Banda. I also doubt that it came out that way in any of the interviews with the Board, committee or media.
Fool me once, shame on you, but fool me twice....
Ed Voter
FHP
I sent this email to the directors today.
In light of Mr. Enoch's request for non-consideration, please select Mr. Banda. Community opinion does not favor Ms. Husk who is perceived as another Goodloe-Johnson. It pains me to state that if Ms. Husk is indeed selected then that will begin public efforts to defeat the $1B levy.
As costly as it may be, another option would be to re-start the search. Please do not repeat what happened when Mr. DeBell and his colleagues chose Goodloe-Johnson because she was the only candidate left. That choice cost over half -a- million dollars and even more distressing the credibility of the board and the school district and the lack of significant gains towards improvement of our children's education.
Thank you for considering.
-No Husk, please
reality check
I think we should declare a mistrial.
Also, McLaren also ran her campaign which was intended to support teachers and parents. McLaren's slogan was: "The School House is Our School House.
I hope McLaren remembers her campaign promises.
martha.mclaren@seattleschools.org.
Also, McLaren also ran her campaign which was intended to support teachers and parents. McLaren's slogan was: "The School House is Our School House.
I hope McLaren remembers her campaign promises.
martha.mclaren@seattleschools.org.
The school board received about 50 applications this time. Who were the other 47 applicants? None of those were qualified for the job?
Banda's plan to avoid major changes worries me. This district needs major changes starting with having a competent and accountable senior management team in place.
Care about SPS
This is not unheard of; indeed, it has happened before in our district.
Think to yourself. You were to retire and then saw a job that would get you back to a place where you've lived before (and presumably liked). It's a district that has real and distinct problems but, as a seasoned professional, you thought you would check it out.
Enoch did that. Both in his statement yesterday and at his interview, he expressed great enthusiasm for what he saw in the three schools he visited.
I'm sure it might have seemed odd to all the candidates to be interviewed by a committee that was going to express no recommendation or ranking to the Board, just insights. But that was the process they were presented with.
I feel certain that the superintendent candidates were aware of this blog (and may have been monitoring it).
Enoch might have seen the alert that suddenly the process was changing and the committee might now be giving a recommendation. It might have given him pause to wonder about why that would be.
So he then hears "oh that was just a communications error" but being a seasoned professional, I think he might just have thought otherwise. He might have thought something was happening and he didn't like it and was not going to be window-dressing.
OR
He simply changed his mind.
Went through the process, found the job lacking (certainly not in challenge and just changed his mind.
OR
Didn't feel it went well and decided to say no before getting the "thanks but no thanks" call.
I don't know but I could tell he's savvy.
Now I fully expect that sometime soon I'm going to get blamed for putting out the information on Friday and it caused confusion, blah, blah, all this talk of a corrupted process, etc.
I also held back on the Van Asselt investigation because I didn't want to hurt this process.
I was the messenger, and did not create the message.
I drew my own conclusions and put them forth here.
I didn't start the fire. I just saw the puff of smoke.
Maybe we will find out more. I hope there is nothing nefarious there.
But he was the best candidate in my mind and I am bummed.
--Still hoping for Banda
Anaheim Resident
I've certainly been in similar situations, where I have done interviews where I was well prepared, enthusiastic, and willing to take on a painful job, was greeted with a lukewarm response, and then I immediately withdrew myself as a candidate for the position. Just not worth it if the other side isn't interested.
Too bad
I think Husk was the pick all along by the shadow powers-that-be, and they threw the other two out there as diversions. Enoch refused to go along, and withdrew.
I really worry about the future of our district. Not necessarily because of the choice of Husk (though am no fan), but by the continued underhanded nature of the process, and this continued push by the power brokers for backing such anti-community leaders.
saddened once again
I am still waiting for someone to report on the fact that Enfield and Husk know each other. Brian Rosenthal, where are you?
It is so sad to see a fake superintendent search in progress again. This city and its kids deserve better.
saddened once again
But Board voted Friday, so it's a done deal.
Signed,
Drat
The Seattle School Bd met in exec session on Fri., a day later Steven Enoch drops out of superintendent search. To save face? #WAedu
to save who's face?
Lynne Varner really tweeted that? Wow, just a little disrespectful, no? I mean the guy has done this many drill times before and obviously got the job. She doesn't have any real knowledge of why he pulled out so why say that?
It's almost like the Times wants to paint a picture of him that isn't valid.
Classy broad, that one.
That lady has an ego that won't stop. Thanks Lynne for confirming that you and all the wonderful Seattle interest groups have been working the back rooms and corrputing the process to get what you think is best.
--Still hoping for Banda
Anonymous said...
I would DEFINITELY give Banda this position over Dr. Husk, and I do NOT think he is in any way a "lightweight," though I am sure that the LEV/A4E/STAND crowd is tickled to have him painted that way. Look at Dr. E! She had never been a Superintendent AT ALL before she got the position here -- and she was a vast improvement over MGJ, the "lots of experience" person who preceded her. Although he currently heads a district that lacks the upper grades, it is not like he has no experience with them from prior positions, or that there aren't plenty of folks around her (buckets of "ed directors, assistant supes of curriculum, etc. etc. etc. Moreover, he struck me a perfectly intelligent, thoughtful, and totally in possession of this entire process.
I too liked Enoch, because he was older, had more seasoning, and in particular, seemed to "get" special ed stuff -- which we have lacked for so long.
But I am dismayed over what I think is entirely misplaced pessimism about Banda's ability to manage this District well. And when we chose Olschefske, and Stanford, etc. etc. -- these folks did not have years of experience in like-sized Districts!
We need someone with the substantive ability to make good decisions FOR THIS DISTRICT. Look at the math decision-making between these two! It is obvious who THINKS, and who mindlessly swallows whatever the latest fad is. We need someone who is willing to work with a true "governing board," rather than just a rubber stamp board that has ceded ALL of its governance functions to the Superintendent. Banda has NO PROBLEM working with the board. It is crystal clear from Salem that Dr. Husk wants a "non-interference" pact from the board that basically gives her carte blanche. And the metrics on which she was judged -- SO squishy. No accountability.
I hope the Board stops to think about how many fiascos have flowed from that management model with MGJ. MGJ got her way on any number of horrible decisions -- school closings in West Seattle, the co-housing of APP, school sales to FAME, freedom to totally ignore business management issues downtown (Potter-gate, audit findings, years of screwing up the Native American grant, bloated staffing, etc.).
I'm sorry -- but this decision is a flat no-brainer. The job offer should go to Banda. End of story. And a pox on the ST and their head-wedged reporting. AARGH!
Jan
The only one who should have made the final cut was Banda. Husk (for obvious reasons--DUI and subsequent behavior) and Enoch (at the brink of retirement)had no business making it this far.
Who picked the finalists? Who decided they ALL needed to be from the West Coast (even though Husk is from Georgia originally)? Using that variable for all three was extremely limiting and makes no sense.
Someone should have asked Husk if she knows Enfield/Phillips. Someone should ask Enfield about it now.
--enough already
Phil Brockman would be an excellent choice. At least he should have been one of the top three. SPS does have some talented and well respected people.
Care about SPS
I'd wished HYA had put 5 people into the final selection. Why not?
Unless you think that somehow an acquaintance between our current Superintendent and Dr. Husk affected the search committee (and I see no reason to think so -- Dr. E is VERY out of sight these days), I just can't see why it would matter. Now -- to the extent that the two of them share viewpoints that are harmful to the District (which can happen regardless of whether they know each other) -- THAT I care about. But I don't know Vickie, and don't dislike Dr. E (though I have not liked some of her decisions -- TfA, first Martin Floe, hiring Cathy to replace her position, etc.). I did, frankly, dislike MGJ -- that woman set off every danger nerve in my body from the first taped meeting I ever watched (the one where she assured folks that "district-centered" control of materials and methods would ONLY be imposed on "struggling" schools with dismal scores -- not schools (like GHS, RHS, Ballard, etc. that were having success generally) -- and every uncharitable, but ultimately correct, bone in my body said -- yeah, right!) At any rate, you clearly see an issue with a prior relationship between Dr. Husk and Dr.E/Vickie Phillips, making me think maybe I am missing something?
Jan
Jan
n...
One word: Cronyism
Who were the other candidates that were let go?
I'm just sad for the blow to morale this is going to have. Will there really be a backlash against BEX IV?