Editorial — What’s the hurry to fill the void?

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

What’s the secret - and the hurry?

Seven days after school superintendent Mike Van Dyke submitted his resignation to the School Board, and only 20 days after he announced he might be leaving, the board members have offered the job to one of two men selected by the principals as potential candidates for the position of their boss.

While we do not take exception with the selection, we do take exception with the process.

The Pea Ridge School Board - a body comprised of five people elected by the voters of School District 109 - has a tremendous privilege facing it. Along with that privilege, comes great responsibility.

One school board member in particular - Rick Webb - said he did not want to consider anyone from outside the state and that he wants someone hired by June 1.

The board formed a search committee consisting of the four school principals and the curriculum coordinator (who also functions as a deputy superintendent and is in charge when the superintendent is out of the office).

Glaringly absent from the search committee are the people most affected by who’s hired: the patrons of the school district.

The search committee met at the Marriott Hotel in Bentonville to conduct interviews of candidates but refused to tell where those interviews were being held, although the location was discovered anyway.

Why the secrecy? And why out of town?

Over the weekend, School Board president Jenny Wood promised to release on Monday the names of the candidates, possibly five, although she wouldn’t confirm who would be interviewed by the committee on Monday.

On Monday morning, she deferred the disclosure to Monday night at the special School Board meeting.

Why the secrecy?

Schools in small communities are inextricably interwoven with the community. The district is often the largest employer and the largest gatheringplaces for residents, creating the cornerstone for the community’s identity.

Community members lend their most valuable treasures to school teachers and administrators every day - their children.

They pay taxes to fund those schools - pay for the salaries, the operating expenses, the text books.

Taxpayers have a huge stake in the school district, and by extension who’s picked as the next superintendent.

As Pea Ridge seeks a new school superintendent, the School Board must seek - or should have sought - the input of community members. In the past, when Pea Ridge (or for that matter, most school districts with which we’re familiar) have sought a new leader, a community committee has led the search.

Parents of school children, teachers, school employees and other people interested in the community - whether business owners or civic leaders - each have a dog in this hunt.

Did any board members travel to the community where these men worked to question the patrons in the district to learn more about the finalists? No.

According to the board members questioned, they did not even know who the applicants were.

Did anyone who lives in our community, who might have insight into one of the finalists - positive or negative - have a chance to share their knowledge?

No.

To try to fill a position as vital as the school superintendent in less than a month - without advertising the position far and wide, and without involving the district’s patrons - is foolish, shortsighted and smacks of self-dealing cronyism.

The School Board should have enlarged the search committee and allowed sufficient time to create an applicant pool, then more time to thoroughly investigate the applicants.

At the end of the process, the person offered the job Monday night very possibly would be offered the job: That’s not the point.

The point is that by conducting this process so rapidly and so secretively makes questionable the board’s commitment to the public’s right to know.

This decision will affect our community for years to come. It should not be made in 20 days.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 05/18/2011