Oh, what I saw last night. I had the pleasure of attending the Rockwood Board of Education meeting last night, and it was amazing. What I saw, from grown people, how they behaved, how they drew conclusions, and how they railroaded an opinion through, just floored me. I was under the impression that the members of a school board were there to work together, to collaborate and deliberate, and come to a reasoned conclusion, while adhering to previously agreed-to procedures. Silly me. It turns out I was only 3/7ths right.
The issue
The issue up for debate (and I use that word very loosely) was whether or not the board should authorize hiring a Director of Secondary Education, and instruct Dr. Larson, the Superintendent, to interview and hire the best candidate. According to at least one board member who was in favor of this idea, it was imperative that this issue be voted on and approved tonight to allow the hiring process to begin, because they wanted to have the person in place before the school year begins, in 6 or 7 weeks. So, give the importance of this position, and the timing, it had to be voted on at this meeting.
Huh?
Now, I'm a curious kind, so this raised a few questions in my head. The position that they were voting to staff at this date was one that had been initially approved several years ago (opinions differed on exactly when it was approved. I heard 4 years and 6 years, I believe, but I'm quoting those numbers from memory), yet had never been approved for hiring until this push now. The creation and filling of this position would directly affect Dr. Larson, as this person would indirectly work for him and would be taking over some of his duties. Additionally, Craig Larson has decades of experience as a professional education administrator, so would presumably have some good input into a debate like this. But wait...
Dr. Larson is out of town. In China.
Oh, and the CFO of the district is out on medical leave right now.
So what would the motivation be for having this vote now, when two of the people who would seemingly be important to the discussion would be unable to attend? Is there some unseen hand directing this play from behind the scenes? Hmmmm, #1
A Motion to Delay for 2 Weeks
Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought something seemed strange here. A seemingly reasonable motion was introduced to delay the vote until Dr. Larson could return. Makes sense to me. Makes sense to others I was around. And it made a lot of sense when the BOE members who supported the motion explained it. Their explanation centered around a couple of things. The first, and obvious, reason was that Dr. Larson was not there, but would be back in a week or so. The second, as I recall, was that the board and district have certain well defined procedures about how to go about authorizing a position, deciding what its responsibilities should be, posting the position, interviewing for it, deciding on the candidate to hire, and finally hiring. But this motion was bypassing all of that and going directly to the hiring step before the job description was even agreed upon, let alone written. And finally, the point was raised that Rockwood should only hire quality candidates, and 6 weeks before school starts, all the good administrators already have jobs. There would be far more qualified candidates for this position available after the first of the year rather than right now. According to this argument, it made more sense to wait until next year to hire, while conducting a reasonable search throughout this school year.
I have to admit, this argument makes a lot of reasoned, logical sense.
But it was voted down, 4-3. Hmmmm, #2
The Vote
So after having dispensed with this notion of delaying the vote until those affected by the motion could attend, the board moved on to vote on the original motion. I know this might come as a shock to you, but it passed. 4-3. Same 4, same 3. Hmmmm, #3
I think it's broke...
I can honestly say that this board, as currently constituted, is broken. There are clearly two completely separate factions, one governed by reason, and the other whose sole motivation seems to be undermining the current superintendent. One can only speculate as to who is directing the 4, but they don't seem to be governed at all by reason, procedure, or protocol. Their actions seem ad hoc to say the least, and do not engender a feeling of confidence in their leadership or management abilities. The sad part is that 2 of the 4 make up the executive leadership of the BOE, so they have the ability to direct the board in whatever direction their imaginations want to take it. To me, that spells trouble and chaos.
My conclusions
I left there with one overwhelming urge, one silly, crazy, insane idea. I can't believe I'm considering this, but I can't believe I wouldn't consider it. As a taxpayer, as a resident of the school district governed by this august body, I have to do something. This dysfunctional board leadership cannot continue. Our district is strong, financially sound, has an amazing amount of parental involvement, great test scores, and is generally a happy place. That is seriously in jeopardy if these 4 continue down this path. I'm seriously considering running for the board. 2 of the 4 are ending their terms this year, as well as 1 of the 3, and the odds of tipping the tide away from chaos and back towards reason would seem pretty good. I know my skills as a facilitator, manager, organizational change agent, and collaborator would help draw the factions on this board back together and allow Rockwood to continue on its path towards excellence (See, I already sound like a politician :)). Not sure yet, but boy, it would be a blast!
Stay tuned for more here. I intend to blog about future developments in the Rockwood district and its board meetings. I might even bring my video camera and stick some choice footage onto YouTube after juicy moments (assuming that private citizens filming board meetings is allowed). Its gonna be a fun ride!
-- bab
