Mary Pierczynski, Carson City’s highly-regarded public school superintendent, is retiring at the end of this school year. The school board, therefore, must hire a replacement. However, not only doesn’t the board president want to open the process to anyone but the candidate he’s already settled on, he doesn’t think parents and taxpayers should even be allowed to ask the candidate any questions at a public meeting before making the decision.
Actually, it’s even worse than that. He doesn’t even want to let the elected SCHOOL BOARD members interview him.
The candidate is Richard Stokes - and by all accounts Mr. Stokes is a fine individual and competent administrator. I’ve met him. I’ve worked a little with him. I like him. I think he might well do a good job.
But should he be promoted without even an interview? Shouldn’t our elected school board members, in a public setting, get to ask the man who might be running our public schools for the next few years a few questions?
Not according to School Board President John McKenna - who, based on past experiences I’ve had with the man, will never be confused as being smarter than a fifth grader.
Mr. Stokes is Mr. McKenna’s choice…period. No need to bother interviewing anyone else. Why? Well, according to Mr. McKenna, because Mr. Stokes “interfaces well with the public” and “is a listener.”
Wow. Wonderful credentials, no?
Mr. McKenna calls opening the process, allowing other candidates to apply for the position, and interviewing them a “circus.” He also considers the notion of school board members being allowed to conduct a public interview of Mr. Stokes a “political game.” After all, says the deep-thinking John McKenna, the superintendent position is nothing more than a “management position.”
The wheel’s turning, but the hamster’s dead.
Anyway, here are 20 questions for any superintendent applicant which I think the Carson City community (or any other community) might be interested in hearing the answers to (he writes ending the sentence with a preposition)…
1.) Do you believe that all of the public education students in Carson City are attending excellent schools? If so, what standards are you using to reach that conclusion? If not, which schools are not excellent and why?
2.) Do you believe that all of the public schools in Carson City are delivering generally the same level of academic quality? If not, why do you believe some schools are delivering a better product than others and what would you do to bring the deficient schools up to par?
3.) Do you believe that “adequate” yearly progress is good enough? If not, what would you do to bring about better-than-adequate yearly progress in Carson City’s public schools?
4.) Do you support the No Child Left Behind program? If not, why not? What do you believe needs to be changed in the program? Would you be willing to recommend that Nevada opt-out of the program and give up the federal money attached to it in return for more autonomy in local decision-making?
5.) Do think Carson City schools are placing too much emphasis on “teaching to the test”?
6.) Do you believe that simply paying teachers more money will result in better academic results?
7.) Do you feel the Carson City school district has too many administrators, not enough administrators or just the right number of administrators?
8.) Is the bureaucracy of the school district running efficiently? Not individual workers, but the system in general? Can the superintendent implement changes he or she believe will improve the academic performance of students quickly enough? Do you agree that the school superintendent should have the authority to fire non-union district employees at will?
9.) Are you satisfied with the procedures required by union contracts in order to fire a sub-standard teacher or administrator? What changes, if any, would you like to see incorporated in the contracts the district has with the various unions representing district teachers and administrators?
10.) Do you think the job of the superintendent is to do the bidding of the school board, even when he or she disagrees with a policy? How much autonomy and authority should the superintendent have in making policy decisions?
11.) What do you believe is the proper role of the union in operating the school district? Should the superintendent be allowed to move union personnel around in the district where the superintendent believes it would be better for the children regardless of union rules?
12.) Should non-union professional teaching organizations be allowed access to the district’s communication avenues with Carson City’s teachers, or do you consider such professional associations nothing more than “vendors”?
13.) What is your opinion on charter schools? What do you think of the State Board of Education’s moratorium on approving any new charter schools? Should Carson City aggressively pursue new charter schools?
14.) Do you believe that low-to-moderate income parents should have the same ability to choose the best school for their child, public or private, as wealthy parents have? If not, why not? Do you see school vouchers as a threat to the Carson City public schools, or do you believe that the competition vouchers would bring would inspire the public schools to provide a better product?
15.) What is your opinion of home-schooling? Should the school district have more control over home-schoolers?
16.) Under what circumstances do you think you might recommend closing down a school?
17.) To what extent do you believe lack of parental involvement in the schools is responsible for educational deficiencies?
18.) Do you believe changes needed to improve Carson City schools should be implemented incrementally - or are dramatic, sweeping changes called for so as to not to leave any children behind while changes are slowly phased in?
19.) Do you support the proposed teachers union ballot initiative to raise taxes on the gaming industry and direct the bulk of that money to higher teacher compensation? Do you believe any additional funding could be better used in other areas targeted to student assistance?
20.) Do you believe the Carson City school district is adequately funded? If not, exactly how much more money do think is required and how would it be spent? Would you support an increase in the sales tax or property taxes to provide the additional money? If not, where would the money come from?
OK, since there were questions within the questions, there are actually more than 20 questions here. Then again, I spent a few years in public schools, so it really doesn’t matter if I added ‘em up correctly as long as I feel good about myself.
But it’s impossible to feel good about what John McKenna is trying to do here. Not only doesn’t he want the school board to interview any candidates other than Mr. Stokes, he doesn’t even want them to interview Mr. Stokes. Just hire him. The public be damned. So let it be written. So let it be done.
Frankly, this process isn’t doing Mr. Stokes any favors either. There’s no reason to believe he couldn’t compete successfully in an open and public process or answer serious questions like the above. His hiring under these circumstances, if allowed to prevail, will cast a permanent pall over his administration. Not only do the students, parents and taxpayers deserve better, so does Mr. Stokes.
As for what Mr. McKenna deserves for his ham-handed “let them eat cake” botching of this process, why not tell him yourself what you think. His email address is: jmckenna@carsoncityschools.com
Posted on February 25th, 2008 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: Carson City
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