The Des Moines School Board is losing its superintendent. Nancy Sebring is off to the greener pastures, well, at least the higher salary of Omaha. The Board needs to hire a replacement. Arguably, this may be the most important task a school board must undertake. A board and its individual members are wise to seek advice and guidance from many different sources. The Des Moines Board did that this week. From whom they sought the advice is as revealing as the advice itself.
Phil Roeder was chairman of the School Board in 2006 when Nancy Sebring was hired. Roeder oversaw the process and shortly after Sebring assumed her duties, Roeder resigned his board seat to become one of the School District’s spokespeople. Roeder may have some valuable advice for the Board, as long as all involved remember Roeder is providing input on how his next boss should be hired to replace his current boss, who he hired. I am not suggesting a conflict of interest. Sebring was impressed by Roeder and decided to hire him after he hired her, a happy coincidence. It may not be a conflict for Roeder to be involved now he is on the District payroll, but the Board should keep his advice in perspective.
So, let’s take a look at what Roeder said. “This board, the seven of us were joined at the hip, figuratively, for the length of time it took us to select a superintendent.” He stressed the importance of the Board appearing to the public and applicants to have a united front. Only the board president should speak to the media. He urged the board to have bold and robust conversations internally (to be read, behind closed doors). And, perhaps the most troubling line, “There’s nobody going to tell you this time around that you’re doing it right or wrong. It’s self policing.”
The board can only speak in a unified voice if they agree to what that voice will say in secret or delegate the entire process to one alone among them. Roeder is right, by speaking in one voice and keeping the bold and robust discussions about what the Board is doing out of public view, no one will have any idea whether the Board is handling the search well or not.
The community should be concerned that one of the paid communicators of their school district advised the elected school board to keep debate over how and who to hire as the district’s next leader out of the public’s earshot. There should be no internal discussions.
An elected board should not shy away from discussing important matters in public, especially something as crucial as the hiring of a superintendent. Self-policing is not good enough. The public needs to make those calls.
There is a difference between reaching a consensus and speaking with a unified voice. Our school district faces a multitude of problems and opportunities. Too many students fail to achieve, budgets are critically tight and we need to fight tooth and nail to ensure some of the best teachers and programs in the country stay where they are, in Des Moines. Everything the Board needs to consider and debate should be said out loud and in public. The community and potential applicants need to have the full picture.
The seven elected members of the School Board will do the community a disservice if they lock the doors and hash things out alone.
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Note: I served on the School Board and was on the same ballot with Phil Roeder and two others when I ran for reelection for one of two seats. I was one of two who lost and Mr. Roeder was one of two who won. I believe I lost that race because I have a propensity to say things out loud, but I admit there are likely many reasons voters chose others over me. I guess what I am saying is while I see my comments about Mr. Roeder as objective, if one preaches openness as I have, he should be willing to share all of the facts and let the reader decide for himself.
Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com
This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register online essay.
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