Archive: Opinions

I wouldn't want to be a school superintendent in Lansing.  My skin isn't thick enough.  It wasn't that long ago that the school board hired a new one.  The buzz around town was that people were glad there would be permanent leadership in the schools after more than five years of a revolving door in the superintendent's office.  And after Tiffany Phillips bailed Lansing out by filling in as Interim Superintendent for the third time.  And the same people whispered, "I hope we don't drive this one away."

But as soon as he stepped in the door  the frying pan started sizzling.  He took heat from the public for decisions that had been made before he came to Lansing.  He was blamed for a budget process that didn't ask for enough stakeholder input, despite the fact that the process started at least three months before he began working here.  He barely had time to hang up his coat when he learned that the capital project would be killed and another would have to be developed, taking much time from the normal things a superintendent does.

And then he started taking heat from teachers.  School Board meetings now feature lines of teachers with prepared statements protesting whatever it is that affects their lives in the schools.  I have to say that this appears to be a campaign of going over the boss's head.  Accusations of lousy communication abound, though if you listen carefully it seems as if he is trying to put a chain of command into effect.  And when a school board member who has clearly disliked the new superintendent from day one suggested, in a school board meeting Wednesday, changing his evaluation process to include teacher input you could almost hear the swishing sound of piranhas circling their prey.

Nobody is perfect in this situation.  Dr. Lewis has made a misstep or two.  For example when he started to move forward on moving the fifth grade to the elementary school you couldn't find anyone who didn't think it was precipitous, even if they thought it was a good idea.  But he also has a list of accomplishments that you rarely hear people talk about.  He was the driving force behind getting information to the community about the capital project, and getting community involvement in the new process.  In only half a year he has put together a strong administrative team that was decimated by a string of interims when he got here.  He instituted a special celebration of teachers who were granted tenure.  To name a few.

At this point I have to say that one of the main reasons I live in Lansing is our teachers.  These are good people who do an amazing job of educating our kids.  They really care about their students, and there are few in the district who don't go above and beyond the call of duty every day.  I believe they care about kids first.  And I am sincere in saying this.  When we moved from our old house to our new one we considered moving out of town to be closer to our families.  But we decided to stay, because we had a two year old who would eventually learn from Lansing teachers if we stayed.  And we haven't regretted that decision for a moment.

But it is also natural to be concerned about your workplace and to be afraid of change.  With virtually no leadership for more than five years, it's got to be tough to adjust to a leader who... well... leads.  Lansing is a 'tough room.'  Clearly it's a very tough room for school superintendents.  Our district is on the brink of losing its edge in competitiveness and test scores, in large part because there has been no consistent leadership from the top in so long.  I think it's worth it to back off.  Or at least not drive another one away.


----
v2i37