Seattle Schools Community Forum

Flip Herndon did not make the final cut for the Edmonds School District superintendent post. In 2013, he applied to be superintendent of Renton Schools.  He had previously been the superintendent in Bremerton School District. Michael Tolley is in the final four to become the superintendent of Bainbridge Island School District.

Guess who wants a new job? Facilities head Flip Herndon.  Cue the Times to get upset that senior management is shifting again. From reader Linh-Co: A Message from your Board of Directors... Dear Friends of the Edmonds School District, The School Board will interview six semi-finalist candidates this Saturday, March 19, at Edmonds Woodway High School, Great Hall, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. We are starting at 8:30 a.m., instead of 9:00 a.m. as previously noted. The meeting is open to the public and observers will be able to provide written feedback. The six semi-finalists are: Dr. Deb Clemens, Superintendent, Cheney, WA Matt Handelman, Superintendent, Coeur d’Alene, ID Dr. Flip Herndon, Associate Superintendent, Seattle, WA Dr. Kris McDuffy, Superintendent, Arlington, WA​ Dr. Carolyn O’Keefe, Deputy Superintendent, Northshore, WA Dr. Chrys Sweeting, Assistant Superintendent, Puyallup, WA After the initial round of interviews, the candidate field will be narrowed...

 (I have very mixed feelings about these appointments.  Both men have good education skills.  Mr. Wright is the more worrisome of the two.  He has close ties with the Gates Foundation. He got onto the board of the Alliance for Education just nine months after he moved to Seattle a couple of years back.  That's something of a record for the Alliance to put him on their Board.  His resume shows that he has been something of a job hopper and frankly, I doubt he'll stick around longer than a year or two.  He looks like a real data guy and, for our concerns about student privacy data, he may be a key player to convince in order to protect those privacy rights. Mr. Herndon, like Superintendent Banda, comes from a small district where, according to the bio, they just passed their first (!) capital levy.  The enormity of the facilities and capital issues in SPS may look like a tidal wave to him.  On the other hand, he seems to support alternative...