January 14, 2016
On January 12 the Minneapolis school board met to resolve the vexing “who will be our next superintendent” question that has hovered over the district for months now. As the board’s nine members moved to rush through a vote that would, in essence, hand the job to interim superintendent candidate Michael Goar, a chant rose up from the back of the packed board room.
“Say no to Goar, restart the search!”
It was an electric moment, and more powerful than the boos, the interruptions, the angry glares (between board members) and the painfully personal dismissal of Dr. Sergio Paez of Massachusetts that also shook the meeting. Paez had been named superintendent in December, of course, only to see a ring of fire shoot up around his reputation, and burn away any chance he would take charge of the Minneapolis Public Schools.
But switching out Paez–whose potential for the job was said to have been destroyed by clouds of mistrust and community unrest–for runner-up Goar did not sit well with many people at the meeting.
On some level, fretting over who occupies the top of the Minneapolis schools’s org chart feels silly. Most city school district superintendents have a short shelf life, which would assumedly be hastened by the kind of bad press Goar has induced and waded through since taking the job for a test run as interim superintendent.
And, obviously, a certain portion of the fractious and discordant school board wants Goar to end up with the job, and they may just prevail (with support from outside political pressure and the air of manufactured crises). Some people I know and trust also want Goar to get the job because they just want the Minneapolis Public Schools to work. “We don’t have time to wait,” is what I often hear.
Still, questions about Goar’s fitness for the job are hard to gloss over.
First, if Paez had to go because community unrest was killing his ability to lead well, how could Goar succeed under similar circumstances? The outpouring of dissatisfaction at the January 12 board meeting was not limited to one group of people–it encompassed parents, teachers, community members, Minneapolis NAACP folks, Black Lives Matter activists, and even a young student.
The angst was real, and it was directed towards a stiff refusal of Goar, because of Reading Horizons. Because of the destruction of the IT department. Because of lingering, pervasive and unanswered questions about the district’s finances. Because of a sense that Goar’s restructured rise to the top of the candidate list was manufactured behind closed doors. Because of the money-sucking influence of high priced, out of state business consultants.
And, because, according to the state department of education’s website, Goar has no superintendent’s license, and his waiver expired on December 31, 2015 (perhaps he assumed he really would not get the job, and did not renew it?). This, coupled with his lack of teaching experience, remains a sore spot for many.
Another sticking point? Many within the Davis Center—who must live with, carry out and answer for Goar’s directives–want a change at the top.
Whatever happens, let’s just hope we don’t get fooled again.
I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again–Pete Townsend
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Don’t forget the changes to the Citywide Autism Program that fell from the sky out of nowhere last spring at the end of the school year and the hiring from St. Paul who were involved in the failed attempt to do the same thing in St. Paul. Don’t forget the budget issues that left two high schools in the red. And don’t forget the Student Based Allocation meeting where Goar could not back up anything he said with cold hard fact!
I am so impressed with education activists in Minneapolis! Keep up the fight. You’re inspiring us in California.
For all these reasons, I struggle supporting Goar. To add to the list of reasons is the sudden, and still unexplained, change in leadership of the Multilingual Department. I also have serious concerns about the abuse of Purchase cards that continued to occur, even AFTER the Star Tribune article a year ago. There is a serious lack of transparency happening in the district.
As of the 1-19-16 Davis Center all staff meeting, interim superintendent Goar announced that the district now has a 6 million dollar surplus. And how? Not sure anyone knows, but I’ll bet that wee miracle will play well at the next board meeting.