City by the Lake

Leaders need to lead... By example

In the business world the success of most companies starts at the very top. If you have quality leadership, you have made one big step towards being a premier operation. In this respect, Michigan City has really been a huge disappointment.

The Assistant Superintendant of the MCAS, Eugene Sweeney made his now infamous statements regarding Michigan City and its teachers. Link to article

Specifically, Sweeney complained about the districts low test scores saying, “Half of me wants to point my finger at teachers and ask what the (expletive) have you been doing?” He went on to say, “I won't tie my family to this community until the attitudes of the teachers in this community change.”

If Sweeney had been the Vice President of a Fortune 500 company he would have been walking the unemployment line, instead he served a suspension and kept his job. My question is why doesn't he responsibility for lackluster results lay with the administration here? Also remember Sweeney's backround as a man who left his former postion under strained circumstances as well. He also has refused to move out of his all white town, and into the diverse community of Michigan City. In other words he is too good to live here or send his kids to school here, but Michigan City is good enough for a paycheck.

One school board member was recently arrested under suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. As the police officer was asking him questions, he actually used the excuse of school board business as to why he was out late, and seemingly legally intoxicated while driving. So far this member is still serving.

The school administrator, formerly in charge of hiring, was suddenly and without explanation given a two week, unpaid suspension. Upon her return she was stripped of her duties for hiring, which were taken over by the Superintendant. When the Superintendant was asked about what caused the incident, all he would offer is that it was an internal matter, and was being handled as such.

The former President of the School Board offered up this quote when she refused to let a woman continue speaking past her alloted 3 minutes during an open public question session.

“The board's public meetings are just that, a meeting of the board in public,” she said. The board meets to do the public's business in public, she added, but not necessarily to have lengthy discussions with members of the public.

This is an eyeblinking statement from someone who does work for the public. It is our tax dollars that put these people into office, and run these schools. If we want lengthy discussions with our public officials, we should have them. They should be happy that there are members of the community who are willing to take the time to come out to these meetings, and ask the questions they do ask.

Finally the process of selecting a person to fill the vacated term of Tom Domkowski was another headscratching example of the school board to fulfill its basic tenant.

Even after having 12 people (including myself) take the time to write in letters, testify before the community, and answer board questions, the board completely failed when it came time to choose one person to fill the slot. The editor of the local newspaper took the board to task saying basically if we were paying the school board to make decesions on our behalf, and they were not able to make decesions, then they should all resign, and find people who could make decesions. Most importantly the editor pointed out that the Board probably was in violation of public meeting laws by conducting their debates and votes in private, and then on top of that, never making them public.

Folks, this is the leadership structure running our school system right now. There are many changes that need to be made at all levels of the MCAS, but one that has been discussed barely, if at all, is change at the top. We need leadership who idenifies with Michigan City as a life choice, not just a paycheck, and we need leadership who wants to work with the public as a peer group, and not inspite of them.

posted by southsider2k5 @ 8:53 AM