May 19, 2005

EDITORIAL

Shining light on school board plan

John Gudgel may be the perfect choice to be the next superintendent of the Yellow Springs school district. However, the school board’s courtship of Mr. Gudgel and its search for a new superintendent got off to an imperfect start when a proposal to promote Mr. Gudgel was initially kept secret from the public.

The proposal is now out in the public, as it should be, and the community should rally around the idea of asking Mr. Gudgel to replace the current superintendent, Tony Armocida, when he retires, which is likely to happen in two years.

But what if the information about the board’s interest in promoting Mr. Gudgel, the principal of Yellow Springs High and McKinney Middle Schools, has stayed quiet? The community could have been kept in the dark until Mr. Gudgel was offered the job, or until he turned it down. The community may have had little or no role in determining who takes over the responsibility of running the school system.

This scenario could have become reality had this paper had not worked to get a copy of the proposal about Mr. Gudgel. The proposal’s author, school board president Rich Bullock, initially did not distribute his proposal publicly, saying that it was an “internal memorandum” about personnel affairs that, he wrote, “should remain confidential until we have the details straightened out.” To his credit, Dr. Bullock later provided the News with copies of the memos after the paper requested the documents, which are public records.

Dr. Bullock’s proposal is bold, and he sketches out an aggressive plan to retain and promote a highly qualified candidate. No one should argue with this effort. John Gudgel is a great choice for superintendent, and the community should hope that he takes the job.

The idea that the board should offer Mr. Gudgel the position, however, should have been disclosed in a public meeting, where it could have been hashed out with community input. While the Ohio Open Meetings Act allows the school board to discuss in closed, or executive, session the appointment or promotion of a public employee, a plan as significant as handpicking the next superintendent should be shared with the public in its infancy, not after the details are worked out. The Yellow Springs community has a right to know how the school board plans to replace Dr. Armocida in a few years.

The selection of a school superintendent is the most important decision a Board of Education makes. The superintendent is responsible for managing the daily operations of the school district, overseeing a multimillion dollar budget made up of public funds, contributing to hiring decisions and playing a vital role in levy campaigns.

School board members knew that Dr. Armocida has been thinking about retiring when his contract expires in 2007, and the superintendent himself said that discussing his possible plans two years early could help ensure a smooth transition of leadership. Dr. Armocida, however, said curiously that the situation is now complicated because “things got publicized a little sooner than they would normally have,” and that district officials are now doing their “thinking out in public.”

Out in public seems like the perfect place for public officials to do their thinking. Public officials should deliberate in public, which helps the community understand how decisions are made and provides citizens with opportunities to participate in their government. This makes the government work better and builds community trust in the government.

—Robert Mihalek