Governing Board Comments

Good Evening,

First, I would like to thank Barbara Brosch for being a thoughtful leader when making decisions in her elected position, even, when in the minority.

The rest of the board members have done a huge disservice to the members who serve and work directly with students as well as to all the community members who voted to elect them.

When faced with petitions of 840 certificated employees, and the opportunity to conduct a nationwide search for the best possible candidate for the next superintendent, four board members decided it wasn’t in the best interest of this district and that the torch would be passed to a “home grown insider”... no interview, no vetting process, no chance for community input. Why?

Before there was a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the interview process for in district employees, employees had to interview on a panel with both in district and out of district employees- a rigorous process. Often, out of district applicants were selected and hired over in district employees. This led to the MOU so that in- district employees had an opportunity to interview first before outside candidates, and yet, there is still no guarantee that in district employees will be selected. Why is it that Ms. McClay does not need to go through an interview process as do employees? If the Board has confidence that she truly is the best candidate what is the harm in verifying that with an interview process for the highest position in the district?

I’d also like to ask the Board, since when did we become a monarchy where King Ritter passes the crown to the next in line? We’ve heard a lot about nepotism in previous years and this is the icing on the cake. King Ritter passes his crown to his next in line best friend who inherits her kingdom making over $300,000 in salary and benefits. And what benefits, exactly, do the royal subjects, the Board, get out of this deal?

A leader should lead by example and be expected to go through the same, if not more stringent processes as employees. They should not be handed the highest paid and top ranked position in the district on a silver platter.