In November, I fired a volley at Jefferson County Board of Education Chairwoman Debbie Wesslund for her "lame excuse." Wesslund had said she believed the school district did nothing wrong in closing Berman's evaluation to the public because disciplinary action was at least possible during the session. The Attorney Genearl disagreed. My position was that such possibilities - absent specific actions -ought not qualify as exceptions to the Open Meetings law.
It now appears that her concerns might not have been based so much on "possibility" as "probability." One of the members, Larry Hujo, says he was upset about Berman's handling of a threatening situation at Wilt Elementary and had to be talked down. And if that is the case, and Wesslund suspected it, should have said so, and then gone into closed session. The public had a right to know.
Then there's Berman's assertion that his evaluation was all jonquils and daisies.
This from the Courier-Journal:
Affidavit shows school board membersought to punish BermanAt least one Jefferson County school board member broached the subject of reprimanding or terminating Superintendent Sheldon Berman during his closed-door evaluation last summer, but Larry Hujo said he was later talked out of pursuing any action by other board members.
In an affidavit filed in the board’s appeal of a state Attorney General’s opinion that it violated Kentucky’s open-meetings law by conducting Berman’s evaluation behind closed doors, Hujo said he “had serious concerns about Dr. Berman’s performance” and “made inquiries about procedures for implementing certain disciplinary actions against Dr. Berman, including issuing a reprimand and/or terminating his contract.”
Hujo was the only one of the seven board members to call for such drastic action, according to six affidavits filed in the case. In fact, Hujo said in a telephone interview Thursday, other board members and Berman later expressed in the closed-door meeting that they thought Hujo’s sentiments were too strong.
“I asked what it would take to terminate his contract. I was upset,” Hujo said. “I was the only board member that had an issue.…”
Following that meeting Berman proclaimed how positive the experience was. He told C-J he felt his evaluation was “a positive review” and Wesslund said that the board “did not discipline (Berman) on any specific issues,” but rather “pointed out areas of improvement.” Hujo told C-J he wanted his concerns included in Berman’s evaluation, but other board members did not agree.
In a hearing before Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Irv Maze Thursday, lawyers for the Jefferson County Teachers Association and several other local school boards and state education organizations spoke in support of the Jefferson County school board’s appeal. They argued, in part, that "requiring superintendent evaluations be done in public would have a chilling effect on openness and accountability" because school boards would be reluctant to express criticisms of their superintendents.
With their handing of the situation at Wilt Elementary, the investigation of the principal's handling of the Pleasure Ridge Park High School situation and Berman's obfuscation of the facts surrounding his travels, it's hard to see the openness Jefferson County is worried the Attorney General's ruling might chill.
1 comment:
There is no openness regarding anything. The union doesn't want openness because it would reveal their mafia-like structure and backroom arm-twisting. The central office doesn't want openness because it would be clear what they do is adult-centered, not student-centered. And the school board doesn't want openness because it would be clear how they are just puppets.
Post a Comment