Educational denial: Now it’s Metcalfe County High School’s turn

The Glasgow Daily Times reports that some of the local citizens in Metcalfe county are upset about the consequences for the Metcalfe County High School after it was named one of the 10 “Persistently Low-Achieving Schools” in Kentucky.

These folks are incensed that their school’s principal and School Based Decision Making Council (SBDM) are both out following an audit of leadership at the school.

The scapegoat for poor performance is a mystery, however. That scapegoat is Metcalfe County Schools superintendent Patricia Hurt. The Metcalfe County folks want to blame Hurt instead of the high school’s SBDM.

Well, under Kentucky law, the SBDM, not the superintendent, controlled the high school. The SBDM had final authority for all important areas like curriculum and the expenditure of money plus a host of other things that USED to be under superintendent control BEFORE KERA came along. But, not now. A string of lawsuits determined the ultimate supremacy of the SBDM nearly a decade ago.

Anyway, if things went bad at Metcalfe High, and this school’s performance doesn’t look so hot, it was the SBDM, not the superintendent, who was to blame.

And, if the SBDM didn’t understand that, then there is double reason to look for a replacement in management at the school.


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