Sunday, February 17, 2013
Little Rock Schools Little Rock School Board meets Monday to pick superintendent finalists
Posted by Max Brantley on Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 7:14 AM
The Little Rock School Board meets Monday afternoon to narrow applicants for the school superintendent's job to to finalists.
I'm interested particularly in one applicant, Walter Milton Jr., currently superintendent in Springfield, Ill., and a finalist the last time Little Rock filled this job. I've talked with him and he insists questions raised about his tenure in Springfield and elsewhere during his quest for a job in Wisconsin are just the sorts of things long-term superintendents inevitably face. Bosses don't make everybody happy, after all, and they can't be held responsible for the occasional mistakes in hiring of subordinates. But, my, what a lot of smoke.
There's this; and then there's this; and then there's this; and then there's this; and then there's this; and then there's this; and then there's this; and then there's this.
And that's just a sample.
Forget the single applicant.The larger question is whether any of the applicants offer hope for departure from status quo, change-at-the-margins leadership. Leadership is lacking on the School Board itself, though that's something of a product of racial factionalism. The superintendent selection process was delayed far too long and is occurring now at a bad time during the school year. The process was outsourced to a consultant firm that hasn't produced stunning choices before. Race of the superintendent choice seems likely to be a disproportionate factor in the selection process.
It's far too late for me to make this suggestion, but I'll make it again anyway. Little Rock could have sought a waiver from state law to bring in an independent local businessman without political baggage to evaluate, even ruthlessly, the old order of things. Heck, they could look next door or elsewhere in Arkansas for somebody like Jerry Guess, who's used a powerful portfolio as state-appointed leader of a district in receivership to right the Pulaski County Special School District. He, incidentially, had a noteworthy career at a Camden school district well-versed in coping with desegregation and flight issues.
Why can't the district recruit a shining star rather than fall back on the usual sorts of choices that inevitably include candidates fleeing difficult circumstances?
Speaking of...
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More on Milton and the LRSD
February 27, 2013Parent receives message from Milton wanting to talk. /more/
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School board members question selection of Milton
February 26, 2013Emails exchanged last week between members of the Little Rock School Board and the consultants it hired to find a superintendent, McPherson and Jacobson, indicate that at least a couple of board members were unhappy that the search firm had suggested Dr. Walter Milton. /more/
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A wintry morning report OBITUARY UPDATE
February 21, 2013The roundup:' * BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE: Spitting rain here. Little Rock City Hall is delaying its start time until 10 a.m. /more/
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Little Rock School Board sics lawyer on Facebook page
February 20, 2013Blog commenters have mentioned creation of a Facebook page to follow the search for a new school superintendent. /more/
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Morning report: A school candidate's drama and more
February 20, 2013The morning roundup: * DOES THE LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT REALLY NEED THIS DRAMA?: I was too busy yesterday to get around to a tip on something the Democrat-Gazette reported this morning. /more/
- More »
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