- By Dan Veaner
- Opinions
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One the one hand the "Fast Track" search could yield a permanent School Superintendent quickly who will hunker down and lead the district with consistent, log-term planning and vision. On the other hand, taking the time to "do it right" will insure that the right person is matched with the district. Or will it?
Both arguments seem reasonable, but the last three searches were conventional ones and we are left again without a superintendent. It has been argued that trying a new approach can't yield worse results than the conventional one has in the past.
What is Fast Track?
Originally suggested to the board by Roy Dexheimer, the Fast Track process compresses the time period it would normally take to search for and hire a superintendent. Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES District Superintendent Ellen O'Donnell brings the board resumes of qualified candidates, skipping the traditional advertise and choose process. Then the board picks the candidate they think is right for the job.
However, Lansing School Board members were uncomfortable with this, because it cut out possible good candidates and disenfranchised the public. They amended the process to include a limited advertising phase, and to include participation by teachers, administrators and the public. Despite Dr. O'Donnell's warning that doing so would almost certainly torpedo Fast Track's chances of timely success, they insisted these elements were important enough to them and to the community at large to risk not meeting the September 1 hire date goal.
So what is the downside of Fast Track?
Speed
Will rushing the process mean less careful scrutiny of the candidates? Probably not. The school board seems committed to doing the work to find a good fit for the district. Even with summer vacations, they have made arrangements to see the resumes and take the time to make informed choices. Speed is a pro and a con. The pro is that it could get Lansing it's Superintendent sooner. The con is that the pool of candidates may be shallower than usual.
Public Access
Interestingly the board is very concerned about public access, although they don't seem to be good at it. They refused to accept Fast Track as it was presented to them, because there was no public input element. They insisted on adding access to the process for the public, teachers and administrators, even though they were warned it might torpedo the process.
While the Board of Education portion of the district Web site is hopelessly out of date, making it hard to find new meetings and agendas, the board seems genuinely concerned about molding the process to include the public. They are willing to risk extending the time frame or even failing at the Fast Track approach to allow the public to participate.
The Ejection Seat
The board started with the premise that if Fast Track doesn't yield just the right candidate, they will simply not hire anyone. At that point a conventional search would be initiated with the goal of hiring the right candidate before the 2006-2007 school year.
So What's Wrong With Fast Track?
If these good intentions are followed through there is no downside to Fast Track. If it works Lansing gets a new permanent leader in September who will lead our excellent school system for years to come. If Fast Track fails a conventional search will yield a superintendent.
If the board gets so caught up in the rush of the process that they feel obligated to just hire someone, Fast Track will have failed. But if they follow the plan they have laid out there is nothing wrong with Fast Track.
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