Secrecy in school superintendent search was bad public policy

Bill Lueders:

The secrecy that attended the Madison School District's pick of a new superintendent was bad form and bad public policy.

Prior to making its selection, the district announced just two finalists, one of whom was found to have a closet full of skeletons that prompted his withdrawal. The remaining finalist, Jennifer Cheatham, got the job.

State law requires that at least the top five contenders for such a position be named, but does not specify when. The Madison School District decided to do so after it was too late to matter.

And then, to add insult to injury, the district's lawyer, Dylan Pauly, dissed the disclosure law that the district complied with only belatedly.

"We believe that by releasing these names, pursuant to our legal obligation, we are negatively contributing to the chilling effect that is occurring across the state with respect to school boards' abilities to recruit and hire highly qualified individuals as superintendents," she wrote.

A bit of history on Madison Superintendents. I fully agree with Lueders. I continue to be astonished at the ongoing lack of transparency in such public matters, from the local School District's Superintendent search to the seemingly simple question of American citizen's constitutional due process rights (is this being taught?)

Posted by Jim Zellmer at March 9, 2013 2:50 AM
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