Letter to the Editor

Public should be involved

Sunday, March 6, 2011

To the Editor:

Where do you want your school board to seek a superintendent?

Our public's opinion in this issue should be addressed and receipted by our school board.

You should be present and included in board meetings to discuss all aspects of this issue. You should be informed as to the background and performance of the successful applicant before the school board takes action.

There are two groups of applicants to consider in making this decision.

One group you would know well. This group consists of qualified individuals living in our corporation.

They are your neighbors.

There are at least three such individuals currently residing in our corporation today. They are taxpayers in our corporation and all have worked in our school system.

Two are already successful superintendents in neighboring school corporations. I believe each should have a choice to come back to Clay Community Schools if they so wish. The third qualified individual has been successful in a high school principal position. This provides our school board and our public a full record to evaluate his work and his character. There is an old saying, "As ye sow; so shall ye reap!"

If there were no local residents desiring to apply for this position, then we would need to search outside our corporation. This constitutes a second group and would require a more extensive investigation of their background.

I believe that the first group should be considered first. The past experience of all three individuals would be of value in addressing all educational problems in our school.

I believe all three are able to steer our corporation toward a progressive education. Has our school board outlined such an education in order to present this to prospective applicants? This should be done, in selecting a superintendent our students need public input and support.

Our public is entitled to know how and why its board chooses our superintendent. Our board should understand this at the time it is in process. This could help return our public to board meetings and establish its participation on a regular basis in our students' educational process.

Forrest Buell,

Clay City