Attorney General to rule if union boss can serve on search committee for new superintendent

It seems like a conflict of interest.

Why would we allow a teachers union boss – who never teaches in a classroom – to be a ‘teacher member’ of a superintendent search committee? After all, this committee will select the next person to play a key role in contract negotiations with that very same union.

Why should the union have a say in selecting who represents the taxpayers’ side in contract negotiations?

For that matter, is it really a good idea for even working teachers to have a say in who their next “big boss” will be? It doesn’t work that way in business, or the armed forces, either.

Consider how similar teacher involvement in boss selection worked out with teachers selecting their principal under the School Based Decision Making Council (SBDM) rules. Teachers in Jefferson County wound up selecting a number of principals that could not pass muster in recent audits in many of the Jefferson County’s 12 “Persistently Low-Achieving Schools.” A new Courier-Journal article today says the latest three audits found that principals selected by the SBDMs in Iroquois, Waggener, and Southern High Schools “do not have the capacity or capability” to continue in that role.

And, most of the principals in the other nine schools got similar ratings in earlier audits.

That says volumes about letting teachers select their bosses. See my companion blog today – “Three strikes, principals are out!” – for more about that mess.

Anyway, WAVE-3 says the eligibility of the non-teaching union boss in Jefferson County will be examined by the Attorney General’s office.

I suspect taxpayers will be watching this ruling closely. After all, who represents their interests in this search process?