When a ship is sinking...

A sure sign of a troubled organization is the sheer number of people bailing out of it. Our sinking ship began when our veteran superintendent, a person who spent her entire life in the district as a student, teacher, principal, and superintendent left after a few weeks with our new board of education. Over the summer, our chief academic officer resigned, finding a new job as a superintendent elsewhere. Today, our chief financial officer resigned to take another job with a local city. This is right before our new board rolls out their brilliant new idea to pay teachers based on a market value system.

This latest resignation should signal to taxpayers and residents what teachers already know: the school board is intent on destroying the school district, and those who can leave are doing so. Some may say that 'in with the new, out with old' happens when a significant change occurs, but let's review: the secrecy with which the board operates restricts people from doing their jobs efficiently and effectively. For example, two of our five board members are left out of many discussions about district business, including-but not limited to-hiring a new superintendent and a new lawyer who strictly represents the board of education (the second is an unprecedented move in my district); the board lawyer, who is paid with taxpayer funds, redacts some of his charges, and then does not answer the other two board members' questions about his redacted charges; the board and the union agree on a tentative agreement, ratified by the teachers, and then three of the five board members back out of the tentative agreement; two of our five members were left out of discussions regarding the amazing contract of our new superintendent--240,000.00 a year for five years, including fabulous benefits.

The resignation of the chief financial officer leaves another void that the new superintendent and the new board of education will fill. Who will fill it? Will it be another escapee from another district that is in tatters? Will all five board members be included in the decision? Or will this decision be made as per usual: by only three of the five board members?

Our district is sinking quickly, and the passengers are jumping ship as are the shipmates. No one seems to know how to prevent this disaster. Instead, we wear blue shirts, buttons, and complain to one another. Fear is pervasive throughout the district, palpable in our halls, our classrooms, and in our relationships with our colleagues. Our board of education, at least the board majority, is doing a great job sinking our district's ship. However, there is one final thought: I certainly hope they can be stopped before their 'grand plans' hurt the most important part of our district: our students.