Seattle Schools vote cheats superintendent, community of clarity

Are Seattle School board members going for some kind of record for empty promises?

For the second time in just over a year, board members voted to negotiate a superintendent contract during a special meeting with no opportunity for public comment. This time, they showed an even deeper disregard for their responsibilities as public servants: Aborting a national search for a new superintendent and denying Interim Superintendent Brent Jones a chance to show students, parents and taxpayers that, indeed, he is the best person for the job.

In an eerie rerun of the board’s February 2021 decision to hire Jones as interim superintendent, board members voted last Friday to authorize board President Brandon Hersey to negotiate with Jones for the permanent position. They did so after several board members bemoaned the flaws in the process, and just as the professional search firm they hired last November was preparing to receive and screen applications for the position. Only District 6 Director Leslie Harris had the courage to vote no.

District 4 Director Vivian Song Maritz actually apologized for her decision, contrasting the district’s process with the Seattle Public Library Board of Trustees’ search for a new Chief Librarian. That search, conducted by a nine-member search advisory committee, was organized, transparent and gave the public an opportunity to meet finalists at virtual forums. She noted that the school board’s 8 a.m. deliberation conflicted with the start of the school day so stakeholders were likely unable even to listen, let alone weigh in on the decision.

“We have given the public more of a view into who we trust for the care of our books than for our kids,” Song Maritz said.

She and other directors expressed confidence in Jones’ leadership, qualifications and experience, noting that he has many of the desirable qualities identified in the foreshortened search. Still, they denied Jones the opportunity to showcase those qualities in a public process that truly engaged and energized the school community.

It’s no knock on Jones to say the board should have conducted a full, transparent public search for superintendent. The library’s diligent, public process revealed that interim Chief Librarian Tom Fay was the best person for the job. Government bodies can’t fast-forward through transparent processes just because they think they know the right answer.

When will Seattle School Board members figure that out?