Roy Exum
When Chairman Jonathan Welch and the sometimes quirky Hamilton County School Board called for a second “deadline” to accept applications in its quest to hire a new superintendent, it was a puzzling twist in a poorly-played game until Thursday night. That’s when it was disclosed the ploy enabled two Hamilton County educators and several pretenders to join the field after an embattled Rick Smith resigned in an embarrassing panic in mid-March.
There are now eight candidates and, of those, the biggest surprise is Jill Levine. She is a highly-regarded educator who, in my humble opinion, would make a fine candidate as a permanent replacement for Smith but it would be a terrible and disappointing omen if she is soon chosen as an interim leader of the 42,000-student school district. Right now we need a heavy lifter in the very worst way.
Levine has been principal of Normal Park Elementary, clearly the exception rather than a true view of how badly the HCDE in now failing. But Jill is an educator, far removed from running a huge business with a budget of over $400 million. To toss her to the tigers with so much at stake is not only ridiculous but a vivid reminder of why the HCDE must change its entire model at this most critical juncture.
Since a December rape by teammates has caused a much-warranted glare on the county school system, the reasons why HCDE is the worst in the state have been just partially exposed. Yet almost everyone agrees that a lack of leadership and a disgusting pattern of “good ole boy” policies has resulted in such a train wreck that 65 percent of our high school graduates must take remedial courses at Chattanooga State.
When accepting Smith’s shameful resignation last month, the school board appointed two of its most dubious assistant superintendents as “temporary interims.” Since just one is legally more practical, Dr. Kirk Kelly was chosen to wear the crown while Lee McDade gets to sit beside him on the throne. This will hopefully soon end when the school board finally selects what is expected to be an interim candidate and an extensive search is begun for a permanent superintendent.
Kelly has most certainly been a disappointment when it is learned he’s been in charge of “testing and accountability” in Smith’s beleaguered upper tier. Testing and accountability are both words that are now punch lines of HCDE jokes in the Chattanooga community. And, in honest candor, Kelly has neither the public presence nor the powerful leadership dynamics to be the face of a renaissance of education, this driven by the Chattanooga 2.0 initiative and urgent pleading from our technical sector.
McDade, who is not a candidate, has been fiercely frowned upon in his role of overseeing disciplinary matters. One parent – in front of the school board and a doubting public – called him “the most evil person she has ever known,” this while McDade was casually either receiving or sending text messages. The next scathing report, yet to come, will show the HCDE has unprecedented bullying problems and this, too, has been under McDade’s watch. The bullying and hazing is believed to now be in almost every school.
McDade’s appointment by the school board was totally puzzling. Incredibly, there was absolutely no discussion by a group of nine people who can’t seem to agree on the day of the week yet the appointments were instantly unanimous. The only explanation, sans the Sunshine Law, is the theory the “good ole boy” (GOB) network is still in some sort of power over the board. There have been several pointed remarks by school board members – loyalists to the end of the incompetent Smith -- to make one believe that is more likely than possible.
The second application deadline, a ruse or not, allowed two members of the HCDE to join the ballot, which some board members apparently believe is the best solution. Unfortunately, the great majority of the public, including many of the system’s teachers, are instead clamoring for a totally fresh overview of the district by an outside leader who can be fair and forthright in righting the floundering debacle before us.
Jill Levine has been in local education a long time – she should not be tasked with making some key personnel changes. That’s not fair to either party … look at the pandemonium Rick Smith caused during the whole time he was at the central office. We don’t need any more “who do you know” or “she’s my second cousin’s daughter.”
And if Levine is really serious about the permanent job, transfer her immediately to Orchard Knob Middle for an inside look at why the state will soon take over the operation of four or five of our schools. Like it or not, the school board deserves the brunt of the blame for failing to hold Smith accountable time and time again. Trust me, there is more to the failure and disparity of our “poor” schools than meets the eye. You want “good ole boy?” or “black vs. white?” Word around the campfire is the real answer lies somewhere between the two.
I am on record in believing retired Marine Corps Col. Shaun Sadler is the guy. His credentials and his successes are readily apparent. But I am also of the opinion the “permanent superintendent” should indeed be an educator with the ability to lure support for children. Jill Levine has the credentials and success, I believe to be a formidable candidate but only after ‘heavy lifting’ she should never be associated with will have eradicated many of the worst problems now seen in the HCDE.
Where I radically differ from the majority on the school board is that the HCDE is today a huge business. Let’s approach it that way – I solidly believe there is no PhD with a degree in education who you would pick to be an effective CEO. That’s just the bald truth. That’s unnatural because running a successful business and its operation are not what educators are trained to do.
My magic wand? I would get Sadler to totally reorganize the HCDE with a proven military diagram for efficiency and effectiveness. Here’s a guy who knows logistics, how billion dollar budgets work, the best way to utilize a massive fleet of buses, how to “fix” broken facilities and plan for new ones. Shaun recognizes we need a technical high school immediately, this with reliable bus service. Most of all, Sadler is a proven leader and that is the foremost need in reviving our fractured system.
I believe I would then go on an exhaustive search for a permanent superintendent (Levine most definitely included) but here is where I would swerve once again. If Sadler does what most think he can, I would relish the thought of keeping him, or a similar business-oriented person, as chief operations officer. We could task Sadler with running the business end with a $400-plus million budget, while our new superintendent would deliver what I would hope to be the best educational grid our 75 schools in Hamilton County has ever had.
Admit it -- filling the central office with principals who have performed poorly before getting kicked upstairs has been an unmitigated disaster for years. The cushy jobs, brash stupidity that enabled Smith to accrue $234,000 in vacation pay, questionable salaries, an admitted lack of oversight, the carpet lumpy with cover ups, and a lengthy parade of poor decisions clearly shows educators are trained to teach, not manage. The central office is the GOB’s stronghold. The entire system doesn’t just need to be revamped, it must be totally rebuilt. Demand we get a builder!
Get human resource people instead of “a former educator” to find the best teachers. Actively recruit UT-Knoxville and Vanderbilt, as well as Emory and UAB, this until UTC can demonstrate their education graduates are no longer subpar. Let’s admit it and overcome it – UTC’s School of Education is a big part of Hamilton County’s infestation of dunces.
Get the word out: Hire some “news hack” who can assure that the board and the public know everything immediately, both good and bad. Get some restaurant people over our cafeterias, and former law enforcement people to make darn sure assure every child can learn instead of watching some disruptive kid stop the train for everybody else. Put experts in key operational seats and let educators educate. Please, let’s use some common sense in the approach to stop this Titanic of a voyage.
I believe it would greatly enhance our school board to realize this can no longer be some sort of crony-ville where Bubba and Earl watch each other’s backsides. The school board, I honestly believe, has been kept in the dark for several administrations. There is too much evidence to assure that’s true and it is easy to track with Bubba and Earl’s grip still on the rope.
It is a great mess and until the school board can make some moves to restore the public’s trust, the four incumbent members of the board, up for re-election on Aug. 4, could be in for rough seas. Trust me, some people need to get real earnest right now in the direction they are taking us.
royexum@aol.com