Thursday, June 28, 2007

Oh, what a night! Rockwood BOE meeting, June, 27, 2007

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


8 comments:

Bryan said...

You're blogging about the activities and planning video... I wonder if STL has a definition of what constitutes a media person?

If elected to BOE will you work to get agile into the computer program? :)

Carl said...

I would suggest talking with one of "the 3" before going very far down this path - and the one of them who is on her/his way out might feel most able to speak freely. About what it's like to be in that situation, about what the campaign - and the job - entail; about your likelihood for success - not just victory in the election (but that, too), but also in terms of acheiving a rational majority on the board. Good luck.

Brian Button said...

Thanks for your suggestions, Carl. I'm already talking with people about this to see if it is feasible, likely to succeed, or if there are other candidates who would be better qualified.

I don't mind the challenges of working with people who may not support my ideas and agendas, as I do this every day at work :) (see my agile blog for a description)

There are tons of factors that could lead me down one road or another about running, and there is plenty of time in which to sort it out.

Thanks for the advice, I will certainly take all of it to heart.

-- bab

ChesterfieldMom said...

Brian -
I think you should look to other school districts of Rockwood's size. I think you'll find that there are no superintendents who are supervising principals. For example, Parkway has a area superintendent for each of its 4 quadrants. Currently Rockwood only has 1 person to supervise the 18 elementary schools and no one directly responsible to supervise middle schools and high schools. I think this new position will enable Dr. Larson and Dr. Peckron to spend their valuable time working on the district level.

Brian Button said...

Hi, ChesterfieldMom,

Thanks for posting a reasonable argument :) I'm much more concerned with the process that was followed than the outcome. It was clear in the meeting that the opinion of anyone other than the 4 who voted for the motion were not to be considered.

Your argument was rational and fact-based, and deserves investigation. Absolutely. But the arguments for having the vote on that night, at that meeting, do not hold water.

Thanks so much, I really appreciate your time.

-- bab

Anonymous said...

Brian,

Boy you have hit the nail on the head! The path that the "gang of four" have taken is rocky and treacherous. I have watched since their inital vote in February and seen the perilious route they are taking this district. It is obvious that they have personal agendas and axes to grind. I think all taxpayers of this district need to sit up and take notice. These are our tax dollars at work and we currently have 4 board of education members clearly not listening to the voters who elected them!

I would encourage you to run. You sound like a clear minded, rational thinking individual who is able to think beyond themselves and what is best for the children of our district. Oh, but wait, you would never fit in with the gang of four. Let's hope that the next election brings about positive change for the Rockwood school district.

Craig Larson is an excellent superintendent. Nationally recognized. Wish we could say that for our Board.

(Please know that unfortunately due to their positions on the board, the three rational thinking members unfortunately get dumped on unnecessarily.)

Keep up the good fight!

Anonymous said...

Very well said. It sounds like this group of 4 are not considering what the parents of the district may want and aren’t they the ones who really matter. Are not they the ones who are entrusting the district to instruct their children, their most precious belonging! I agree that maybe it is time for a change in the board and time for the board members to do what is best for the community and the children, rather than themselves. I will be looking forward to your time on the board and welcome the change.

Anonymous said...

I think videos on YouTube would be great! The BOE meetings are already shown in full on Local CAble, but I think YouTube would further widen the viewing audience and broaden awareness.