Hillsborough's National Reputation -is it safe?

http://floridaschoolboss.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!1E56463A3B8792CF!471.entry

For anyone who has watched or attended the school board meetings, there is a predictable sequence, based on the agenda. Until recently, there was never any disagreement or challenges to any one. The only sharp abrupt words were to the public speakers. If there was a hint of needing further information, it was asked for almost apologetically. How can a group that large ever pull that off for 20 or 30 years? There has to be something behind the great curtain.


This was today's Tribune editorial:
Bad Behavior On School Board Will Hold Hillsborough Back
The Tampa Tribune
Published: August 30, 2007

"Even the most patient school teacher would not stand for the bad behavior shown by some members of the Hillsborough County School Board.
Temper tantrums and slamming doors. Snide remarks, innuendo and peer pressure.
What is this, a junior high or the governing body of the nation's ninth largest school district?
The board's split became clear in two recent events: Tuesday's disastrous team-building workshop and the schizophrenic evaluation of Superintendent MaryEllen Elia.
In both cases, the majority showed no clue about how to give honest, constructive feedback. And if board members can't agree on where the district stands, how can they agree on where it needs to go?
The board's infighting gives the public little confidence that it can significantly improve outcomes. Given its poor high school graduation rate and the fact that most graduates must take remedial classes to enter a community college, Hillsborough's school board needs a laser-like focus on improving the fundamentals.
Yet a workshop meant to build relationships dissolved within an hour after April Griffin, the newest board member elected in November, said she lacked trust. Griffin had been criticized the previous week for questioning the process of appointing administrators.
Veteran board member Candy Olson said 'we all came in with things we wanted to change' before understanding how the system works.
Funny thing about this board. Senior members like to tell junior members how things work.
Too often, their insight comes with a subtext of 'back off.'
When Jennifer Faliero first joined the board, she, too, complained about roadblocks, lines that couldn't be crossed and a culture that perpetuates the status quo. Yet five years later, she led the charge in telling Griffin to change her style or 'you need to resign.'
Faliero, who has moved out of her district in violation of the law while she grapples with a divorce, was out of line. Elevating an argument to fever pitch does little to help the board help students.
Following the rebuke, Griffin stormed out, slammed the door and never returned. While it's understandable that she'd need a few minutes to compose herself, it was unprofessional to leave the meeting altogether. It raises questions about her ability to deal with adversity - a trait politicians need to succeed in public life.
Faliero and Griffin clearly don't like each other because of past political battles, but it is improper for them to carry this baggage into the boardroom.
While Tuesday was messy, more concerning was the board's wildly divergent evaluation of Elia.
Griffin scored Elia so poorly that you would think she wanted the superintendent fired - though she joined her colleagues in unanimously voting to extend the superintendent's contract.
Meanwhile, Chairman Jack Lamb, member Carolyn Kurdell and Faliero gave the superintendent such over-the-top scores that they must have missed Elia's missteps in changing school boundaries, altering high school teaching schedules, failing to administer performance reviews and selecting leaders for the transportation and purchasing departments.
The evaluation - one of the most important documents the board produces all year - reflects neither Elia's specific accomplishments nor the improvements needed. In his assessment, Lamb hardly completed a sentence. Only Doretha Edgecomb and Olson gave thoughtful, helpful insight.
The community doesn't want board members to act in lockstep. But it does want this board to get about the business of improving public education. To make it happen, members should leave their petty differences on the playground where they belong."