Joint Press Release Re:  Superintendent Review 9.3.09

Announced on: Thursday, September 03, 2009

-Teachers’ Unions & Parent Advocates Call for Reform In Superintendent Review-

-Say School Board Can’t Make a Fully-Informed Decision Under Current Rules-

Fairfax County, VA –Thursday, September 3, 2009— An unprecedented number of influential parent advocacy groups including FAIRGRADE, SLEEP, FairfaxCAPS, Fairfax Zero Tolerance Reform (FZTR), the Fairfax County Association for the Gifted (FCAG), the county’s two largest teachers’ unions, the Fairfax Education Association (FEA) and the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers (FCFT), and the President of the FCCPTA joined forces today in calling for greater School Board transparency and the inclusion of public input when considering renewal of the FCPS Superintendent’s contract. 

The School Board is currently scheduled to discuss and vote for an extension of the Superintendent’s contract at their regularly scheduled meeting on September 10^th. 

“To date, there has been limited information provided to the public that would enable the community’s participation in this important evaluation process.  So it is difficult to comprehend how the School Board can make a fully informed decision on this contract extension,” said FAIRGRADE President Megan McLaughlin.  

Some School Board Members have told constituents that the School Board uses concrete, measurable standards upon which to evaluate the work of the Superintendent, student achievement and operational expectations.  Success in those two areas and success of the Superintendent are considered “to be the same” according to the School Board’s Strategic Governance manual. FCPS officials also say that, as a rule, the School Board has not sought public input or comment on the renewal of the Superintendent’s contract.

This lack of public input, parent advocates and teachers say, is the reason why the Superintendent contract renewal process needs reform.  

“Like it or not, the School Board has to face the fact that many of us in the community have legitimate concerns about this Superintendent and this current review process.  It’s all about confidence and this review process needs to change,” said Mark Glaser, President of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers.

SLEEP Co-founder Phyllis Payne said,  “Parents shouldn’t have to organize by the thousands in order to be heard on issues that are critical to the success of our children and our school system.  Inviting the public’s participation in the Superintendent’s contract renewal process might be one step towards restoring faith in FCPS’ leadership.”

Leonard Bumbaca, President of the Fairfax Education Association (FEA), said the coalition of parent and teacher groups is also concerned that any contract extension could tie the hands of future School Board members.

“We will have a newly elected School Board in 2012.  If we bind future School Board members with a lengthy contract extension that lacks public support, and new School Board members decide to terminate that contract, the FCPS system and taxpayers could potentially face high contract severance payouts,” said Bumbaca.

Scott Chronister, President of FairfaxCAPS suggested that the School Board also give greater notice about Superintendent contract renewals.  “It’s clear the School Board was trying to suppress public concerns about Dr. Dale’s performance when they originally brought this issue up in the dead of summer.  In the future, let there be ample public notice so the community can review and provide comment about the Superintendent’s performance,” said Chronister. 

FCCPTA President Michele Menapace said community input should be a key component of the review process, “I’m hearing suggestions from both parents and teachers that the School Board review and amend the current performance standards by which any FCPS Superintendent is measured.”

“We would like a better understanding of the current standards and annual baselines used to measure the Superintendent’s performance so we can determine what the School Board likes or doesn’t like about that performance.  We’d also like to understand how those standards are tied to specific goals,” said Caroline Hemenway of Fairfax Zero Tolerance Reform.

The coalition of parents and teachers said they will notify their respective members about the September 10^th School Board vote and meeting. 

“Our coalition of groups will be there to respectfully show our unity about this process with a focus on creating more transparency and improving the Superintendent evaluation process with public input,” said President Grace Chung Becker from the Fairfax County Association for the Gifted.