Opinion: Choosing a Superintendent; You Think We Have Problems

You think we have trouble here in Newport-Mesa with superintendents and administrators? It's unbelievable but Seattle, Washington has had just a little more trouble.

Maria Goodloe-Johnson began her job as Seattle Public Schools Superintendent in July. She had been the superintendent of the Charleston County School District in South Carolina. Well, things went bumping along with Ms. Goodloe-Johnson and the Seattle School District until the school board unanimously voted to dismiss her because of a financial scandal that left the board scrambling to repair the damage.

Soon after Silias Potter, a district employee, was charged with nine counts of first degree theft in a scheme to bilk the district out of $250,000. Seattle hired Susan Enfield as an interim superintendent, who they not-so secretly hoped to hire. According to the Seattle Times, Enfield say she would not seek permanent appointment even though she would likely have enough votes on the School Board for the position.

Things settled down for awhile in Seattle. Three finalists for the job were named. Jose Banda, Sandra Husk and Steven Enoch. Surprisingly some of the citizens of Seattle were not quite satisfied with the process, and decided not to ask the finalists to answer questions at a public meeting. This was inpart because they were worried overly negative attendees would scare of the candidates.

The next bombshell occurred withen they discovered that Sandra Husk had a DUI which the trustees determined would not exlude her from consideration for the job.

WAIT FOR IT: Steve Enoch dropped out of the race bacause he thought he was too old and Sandy Husk withdrew as a finalist. So good luck Jose Banda!

NEWPORT TRUSTEE ALERT!

What does this have to do with Newport-Mesa you ask? One, it should be a cautionary tale to our trustees. Two, at least we are not alone in the misery of the last few years. Three (and you may not agree with this) it's funny. Lord knows we need a little humor these days.

The Newport-Mesa School Trustees have interviewed the candidates, had interviews with the community group (with questions approved by the board), and have chosen their top candidates.

By the time you read this, the top candidate has been chosen. Vetting in the candidate's district is THE most important and the most difficult time part of the selection. As well as the candidate might appear on paper, and in spite of the sterling job he/she did in the interview process, he or she might not be highly thought of, may have some unsavory baggage, and made more than his or her share of enemies. 

As hard as it is to believe, these home district people, including the teachers, might be more than eager to get rid of this person, and might not reveal what they feel or know. Trust me this has happened.

The N-MUSD board is planning on spending two to four days in the top candidate's district, but even that is perhaps not enough time. In the case of Jeffrey Hubbard, the board spent only one day in Beverly Hills. Clearly that wasn't nearly enough time. Some members of the board had even been warned about Dr. Hubbard in advance.

N-MUSD is in a big hurry to get this done and it's extremely difficult to know someone in a day or two, so we can only hope that they see any red flags and acknowledge them!

The next superintendent will be here for a long time we hope....so good luck N-MUSD Board of Education. Do your job well.

Just Sayin...