Look at this schedule of Board Meetings!

This is the schedule of Richland 2 board meetings that are posted on the District's website today.

June 12 4:30pm Special-Called Board Meeting

June 13 6:30pm* Regular Board Meeting

June 20 7:00pm Special-Called Board Meeting

June 21 7:00pm Special-Called Board Meeting

June 22 7:00pm Special-Called Board Meeting

June 23 1:00pm Special-Called Board Meeting

* 6:30pm is the expected time for the Board to re-convene after the Executive Session

June 20-22 Finalist interviews with Board and Stakeholder Groups.

June 23 Scheduled date for Board to offer superintendent position

June 27 __?_pm Regular Board Meeting. Last Board meeting of School Year 2022-2023. Election of officers for SY 2023-2024. Announcement of new superintendent.

Will June 27th be a short meeting? Elect new officers. Thank out-going officers. Announce the new superintendent. Go home. One hour?

July 3 Start date for new superintendent.

Will the Board have exhausted its number of paid meetings by June 30th? Board Policy BID provides that board members "will not be paid for more than 30 board meetings in any one calendar year".

The calendar year ends December 31, 2023. Does this mean the Board will work without compensation from July 1 to December 31?

Or will the Board revise Policy BID? Can they change their own compensation while in office? Is there a state law that prohibits that?

Can they meet the Timeline? or not?

On the superintendent-search Timeline for today is 

1) Presentation of Candidates to the Board of Education; and

2) Board of Education Determines Finalists.

I guess no one told McPherson & Jacobson that Richland 2 does not have a "Board of Education". 

Aside from that, how will the School Board "determine" Finalists today? Does that have to be done in open session?

Interviews with finalists will be June 20-22. Finalists are apparently expected to be interviewed by the stakeholders' groups. In the stakeholder input report, the following groups are mentioned:  "administrators, business and community leaders, classified staff, community members, parents, students and teachers". Oh, yes, and by the Board members (I hope).

If I were a candidate, I'd say, "You guys must be nuts to think I am going to be interviewed by six stakeholder groups!"

Who pays the expenses for candidates to come for interviews (last-minute flights; hotels; ground transportation; meals)? Is that part of the search fee paid to McPherson & Jacobson? Or does Richland 2 foot the bill?

The timeline provides for the decision to be made by the Board on June 23.

And for the Board to announce the new Superintendent on June 27. And for him/her (assuming the Board will select a male or female) to start on July 3.

Where is the time allowed for negotiation of salary, benefits, etc.? Where is the time allowed to consider the offer?

If the person selected is employed, where is the time for him or her to give a responsible amount of time for the notice of resignation?

Finding Old News

Have you ever tried to find old "news" that you read on the District's website?

I received this helpful information from a reader. Many thanks.

"You have written previously about information being removed from the RSD2 homepage.  If you click on 'View All News', you will find the (Stakeholder Input) survey as well as all of the news articles that have ever appeared on the homepage. Obviously ALL news can not remain on the homepage, but it is not deleted!"

The reader added,

"I can not imagine someone being able to start as the new superintendent on July 3rd, unless they are currently employed by RSD2.  It will be interesting!"

Scholarships truth?

Did you read the banner on the District's homepage?

"1997 RICHLAND TWO GRADUATES EARNED $168,756,900 IN SCHOLARSHIPS!"

Did they "earn" them or were they offered them?

I suspect that number of $168¾  million is the total that was offered. What is the purpose of that number?

This number works out to an average of $84,505 per graduate.

How about reporting the amount of scholarship money that was accepted by the 1997 graduates?

Schools like to publish numbers like these, even if they don't make any sense.

Remember the news about the high school graduate who received total scholarship offers of more than $9,000,000? Dennis Barnes of Louisiana, whose GPA was 4.98, was offered aid from 125 colleges and universities. There is a young man who is serious about education.

But why would someone even apply to 125 colleges and universities?

Stakeholder Report - where to find it now

The District has moved the Stakeholder Input Report off its homepage, and one parent has told me that it is now very hard to find. (To search on the District's website, first click on EXPLORE (top right); then enter a keyword in the Search field.)

For your convenience the Stakeholder Input Report, prepared by the superintendent-search firm of McPherson & Jacobson, can be found by clicking here. (For those who don't like to click on blind links, you'll find the survey at    https://www.richland2.org/News/Stakeholder-Survey-Results)

This report contains what McPherson & Jacobson heard in May from six groups: Business & Community Leaders; Classified Staff; Community Meetings; Parents; Students; and Teachers.

Read for the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Clock Is Ticking

The next Superintendent for Richland Two is supposed to start on July 3, 2023, according to the search timeline. Today is June 8th. That's 3½ weeks from now.

Is anyone getting nervous yet?

The Board hasn't even received the list of candidates yet!

On Monday, June 12th, the search firm is supposed to present its list of candidates, and the Board is supposed to select the finalists. Somebody, explain that to me! How will this board possibly choose a number of finalists from the candidates in one session on June 12. Seriously?

The Search Timeline can be viewed here.

June 20-22. Interviews with the Board and with "Stakeholder Groups". Stakeholder groups? Who? Why? Who came up with that idea???

On June 23 the Board is to select the finalist and offer the job. Tell me, how will they possibly do that? Will they care at all about feedback from the Stakeholder Groups?

The timeline says the Board will announce the new Superintendent on June 27, the last board meeting of the School Year. That means that the selected candidate will be expected to make an immediate decision. What about time to negotiate the terms of his/her contract?

And s/he (dare I say "it"; will the board go for a non-binary (breathing person?)) is expected to start on July 3rd. 

I ask again, Is anyone getting nervous yet?

Board Policy BC - Conduct - 6/13/23 Agenda

On the agenda for the June 13, 2023 board meeting is Item 9.1 - Board Member Conduct.

Why in the world is this school board wasting valuable time on that? Aren't they grown-ups? Can't they be polite and professional and speak nicely to one another? I guess not. But just having a revised Policy won't do much to improve relations between the board members.

First, read the current Board Policy BC. Go to the District's website; then click on EXPLORE; then School Board; then BOARD POLICIES; then (on the left side) B - SCHOOL BOARD GOVERNANCE AND OPERATIONS; then Policy BD Board Member Conduct. Read the existing policy.

Then read the proposed revisions to BC. This link will take you directly to it. Or click on the attachment with the June 13th agenda. The underlined words/sentences are what is proposed to be added!

The I.G. may have expressed some concerns in his Report. However, this revision is over-kill. The board ought to be making things simpler, not more complicated. First, I wonder who wrote it? Did it come from Deputy Supt. Franklin or from Karla Hawkins, the Legal person on Richland 2's staff? Where did she get her guidance? How much time went into the draft of the proposed revision?

And why now? There is nothing more important right now than hiring a new superintendent - which leads me to my next blogpost.