With no disrespect intended, why would anyone apply for the position of Oyster River High School principal given the squabbling that continues among School Board members?
Who would want to put themselves in harms way of a politically divided board whose members can't even agree on the makeup of the search committee?
Oyster River residents take great pride in what they see as a quality school system. In the past that school system has drawn quality candidates.
Unfortunately, that may no longer be the case given the current infighting, refusal to hire the last nominated candidate and, now, with a salary offer the board is being told by experts is too low.
School Board members may as well figuratively shoot themselves in the foot. On second thought, they probably already have.
What I observe are board members who are passionately deliberative during their meetings. Because they may disagree on issues does not mean there is infighting as Fosters and some residents claim. As far as the experts telling them the salary figure for a new principal is too low, we shall see. Is it less than the previous candidate was offered?
ReplyDeleteI hope the residents of Lee, Madbury, and Durham really listen to what the board is actually saying instead of relying on misleading newspaper accounts/editorials and angry comments from certain members of the public during board meetings.
I agree with the with Fosters. If people are interested in applying at orcsd the first thing they will do is google us and see the turmoil we are in.
ReplyDeleteWe have qualified people here but the board doesn't want to listen to them . Now we hire a firm that says our we will not get anyone offering a one year contact and the board disagrees. What are they doing?
We now have 4 or more administers leaving or looking for other jobs.
I am listening to the board but it's what thier not saying that scares me more
Sue,
ReplyDeleteThere are 2 administrators leaving....so you are implying that two more are as well?
Anyone that googles can also see via the internet that the hiccups in ORCSD are nothing compared to what other districts are dealing with in this country.
This is quite a bit more than hiccups. You don’t lose a high school principal that loves her job and doesn’t have another one lined up over something small. When people leave jobs they like, there are usually many things that have happened for them to make that decision. Like Sue, I am also worried about what is not being seen .
ReplyDeleteI agree with one of Mickey’s comments that people should watch and listen to what the school board is saying and doing. Watch the 4+ hours of the last meeting where they go round & round and did not get too much done. Watch when candidates say one thing while running and then do something different once they are elected. Watch when they say something at one meeting then at the next they say something different. Months ago they didn’t have any complaints or concerns about the previous search process and now they think it was flawed. At the 4/27 meeting they said the new search process would be lead by the superintendant but now they aren’t letting him do that. Yes, people do need to watch and pay attention.
Like the report on economic development has pointed out, strong schools are important. But this school board is rapidly changing that unfortunately along with stopping all the great progress Mr. Colter has made.
Yes, these are hiccups. Seriously, the world is not coming to an end. Schools are not closing, pink slips aren't flying. This should be put in perspective.
ReplyDeleteFor all the complaints about the school board, I ask their critics...what do you want them to do? It sounds to me like your expectations are that they simply show up once a month to sign checks. Their input is not required after that and this being a district where the SAU is seperate from the towns ....an effectively neutered school board leaves the SAU to be completely answerable to no one. The SAU employees are not elected, so they don't have to answer to citizens. They SAU employess are not under the umbrella of town administration, so they simply send their bills to town halls.
Our entire governing structures are supposed to have a check and balance. If you have a rubber stamping school board, you do not have check and balance.
If you look at regional and national education issues, NOTHING going on in ORCSD is out of line with the national trends. What seems to be happening is a larger local voicing of opinions.
ChrisAnn,
ReplyDeleteI would like to correct you! The workers at the SAU answer to the citizens every single day. That is a big part of the job! My wife is the BA at the SAU and puts in 50 plus a week dealing with the citizens of the district many times. They actually talk to citizens that show their faces in the office to get real answers! How many times have you gone to the office to get the facts? Don't post things that are just plain not true.
Obviously the workers of the SAU 'communicate' with the citizens. I think it's also obvious that I am refering to more specific issues such as pay, performance. As a citizen I have no direct involvement in such with any specific employee, that would be up to the body that manages that and it's 'check and balance'.
ReplyDeleteI have been to the SAU office many times. I seek and have received many 'facts'. I actually quite enjoy going to the office. I also contact SAU staff when I have a question[s] and have had prompt and courteous responses.
Nothing I stated that was untrue.