To make it appear as though the community is involved in this selection process, the WCBOE announced that they created a survey to see what parents were looking for in a new Superintendent. The announcement was on the wcboe.org website, but was missing the link to the survey for four days. This was brought to the attention of the school system over a weekend, and a link was added the following Monday. The public was robbed 4 days of their window to respond. This was brought to the attention of Board member John Palmer with a request to extend the survey response window, but nothing was ever done. Despite the results of the survey, the WCBOE has a track record of ignoring the will of the people through a showcase of illusionary intent for the record.
Who should select the next Superintendent?
In order to get a consensus from the citizens, a one-question poll was created to target Wicomico parents, which read as follows:
With just 6 months between the retirement of Superintendent Donna Hanlin and the new board members being sworn in, who do you feel should pick the next Superintendent of Wicomico County Public Schools?
Out of 817 responses, 22% chose the Current School Board, and 78% chose the Newly Elected School Board. After asking many BOE candidates, all of them were in favor of the new schoolboard selecting the next Superintendent for Wicomico County Public Schools.
Are the actions of the current WCBOE to select a new Superintendent ethical?
MABE publishes a Maryland School Law Book that explains the roles, responsibilities, and legal aspect of board oversight in the State of Maryland as it aligns with COMAR and the Education Article. Section 1:68 of the book reads:
Thanks for the input (Daren ? ) but you didn’t tell us HOW to fix this in such a short notice. Yes I was one of the ones that voted to have the next school board elect. Donna Hanlin should have NO say in this along with half of the “puppets on her string, Tonya included. Where do we go from here ????
Give to the Mayor’s Wife !!!!! LOL LOL
WCBOE did their own version of (snicker snicker!)
Giant Middle Finger!
Looks like the supreme court 9 !!! LOL LOL
Wicomico BOE Gestapo !!!
They have already decided on Rick Briggs…the rest is just a show.
Must take issue and disagree with several aspects of this post;
1) Nobody was ‘robbed’ of an opportunity to respond to the WCBOE tell us your thoughts offer. The deadline wasn’t extended but those interested could still do so.
2) A scratch poll pitched to an interested subset isn’t proof of anything. It’s just proof of a certain number of clicks.
3) Closely related to 2 above, the responsibility to select a replacement superintendent rests solely with the current Board of Education members. Period.
Whether they are planning to run again is not material. Past appointed boards have needed to appoint interim superintendents or admin troikas when they were caught by short-notice resignation or other factors that kept them from finding an acceptable candidate in a timely fashion. Those interim arrangements really did not benefit any of WCBOE’s stakeholders.
The search process is kind of cumbersome, has a variety of practical deadlines tied to settling on a job description, desirable candidate profile, search and advertising schedules, review of candidates, interviews and offer/acceptance. MD requires a 4 year contract and a July 1 start day. That’s a concise summary.
Failure to hit those mileposts will mean potential candidates will take other jobs, renew a current contract or stay put; bona-fide internal candidates may leave if they sense a board reluctant to make a decision.
Wicomico is not the only district seeking a superintendent. Those external candidates interested in a job change or promotion have already started their search. None want to be without a job come July 1. A lot more moving parts than the post seems aware of.
4) Boards make lots of commitments that bind future boards: School construction plans, choosing textbooks, maintenance contracts, the list is extensive. The idea that any new board needs to start fresh is silly. As existing agreements come due, they’ll make their decisions about how to proceed.
5) Staggered terms provide for administrative continuity at the board level as new members get familiar with their jobs. Otherwise each new member (all of them, without staggering) has to reinvent the wheel. Not so efficient.
We’re all interested in identifying an excellent superintendent candidate and having them on board by July 1.
Thanks for sharing, but in the end this board is not trusted, and they will do what ever they feel like in the end. I’m sure they will jump through all the hoops you mentioned, but everyone knows they will pick Briggs because this county is not even remotely attractive for any outside candidate, much less be able to compete with all of the school systems in MD alone looking to fill their top vacancy. WCBOE has never in my memory selected and “excellent superintendent candidate” since back to the Middleton years. Bill had a wicked temper, but he could be trusted….the mess that came after him, not so much.
There are 8 counties looking for a superintendent–Wicomico. Talbot. Caroline, Calvert, Carroll, AA, PG, and Montgomery. Many candidates will apply to more than one. Many of our superintendents over the years were not currently employed by WCPS.