Elected or Appointed Superintendent of Schools?

I've been an outspoken advocate, for a long time now,  for the model of school boards hiring superintendents, directing them, overseeing them, holding them accountable, and evaluating them on an annual basis.

This is the way 99.2% of our nation's 15,000 school districts operate, and it gives the voters maximum oversight, accountability, and control of  district schools.  I've given my opinions about this subject on this blog here and here.

The PNJ ran a front-page story on the issue this past Sunday.

A recent viewpoint appeared in the Sunday PNJ

In Tallahassee, the editorial board of the paper there has called for appointing of superintendents after the superintendent of that school district was the subject of an FBI corruption probe recently.

But the false-perception lingers among some voters that feel they "lose control" if they allow duly elected school board members to hire the superintendent of schools.   This false view is a big  problem.   "I want to elect two of the persons that run schools locally, not one!" said one person I spoke with recently about this.  His sentiments are echoed by many.

What people don't realize is that with elected superintendents, once you vote one in, you are stuck with that person for 4 years. If he initiates curriculum you don't want---too bad!  You are stuck.  For 4 years. If he disregards the elected board, too bad.  You are stuck.  For 4 years.

Elected superintendents are powerful and they politicize the system and the position whether knowingly or unconsciously.  The only realistic "check" on their power is the ballot box on an infrequent, four year cycle.

Eventually, elected superintendents accumulate so much power that they become all but unbeatable in elections; eventually they end up greatly influencing the elections of the very school board members that (allegedly) serve as a check to their massive and ever-growing power.  This accumulation of power becomes almost absolute after a second and subsequent term absent some self-inflicted political catastrophe on the part of the elected superintendent of schools.

Irregardless of how he/she portrays themselves--the multi-term incumbent, elected superintendent of schools  (holding the large expenditure purchasing decision power and the employment fate of so many people singularly in his/her hands yearly)  eventually accumulates power that is nearly absolute..

Lord Acton famously describes what absolute power does to any person, and his famous quotation on this subject remains spot-on.

  Appointed superintendents, by contrast, are always on the bubble.  They can and do concentrate on doing their jobs instead of appeasing special interests to win the next election.
 With appointed superintendents, the board members who are elected every two years can hold the superintendent accountable, lest they themselves will be out of a job at the hands of an angry constituency in the next election!

Boards can censure, re-direct, and/or terminate an appointed superintendent immediately if he/she does not perform or follow school board policy.   That is maximum accountability for the electorate--as it should be.

But neither an appointed nor elected  "system" is a magic bullet panacea that cures all issues in school districts.  For optimal performance, an active engaged school board that works well together making policy in concert with an appointed superintendent, with the courage to hold the superintendent accountable for executing the policy, is the best model.

But either way-- it all starts with the board.

Either type system needs a board that is engaged, astute, and aware of the issues.  Absent this, the system or model (elected vs appointed) that puts the head man in charge is really a problem of a lesser degree...

Yes, more important than whether a superintendent is elected or appointed, is whether or not members of a school district's  board are paying attention, actively following the issues, and keeping the pressure on the administration to follow board policy with fidelity.

If members of a school board are just going along to get along, providing only milk-toast, anemic oversight/opposition to bad policy or budgetary recommendations, or worse yet----"mailing it in" and doing precisely what they are told by the superintendent----then no system or superintendent installation model will work effectively, ever.

Elected or Appointed Superintendent of Schools, Part II

From Tennessee School Boards Association

I strongly support the model of an elected school board hiring, supervising, and evaluating a professional, highly-qualified superintendent of schools from a large, nationwide pool of talented applicants.

This is not a shot against our current elected superintendent of schools Malcolm Thomas.  I've talked to him about this.  It is not personal, as I happen to think Mr. Thomas is one of the hardest working men I have ever known and I agree with the majority of his initiatives.

But I think the overall system would greatly improve, and our district would be more responsive to

Enter The Strawman: Some Want Superintendent's Removal to Justify "Elected" Superintendent Model

Not "Enter Sandman" a fantastic song by Metallica.

Not "The Snowman" a very peculiar, unsuccessful and critically panned movie from a few years back....

Nope, this was "Enter the Strawman."

There was some legitimate anger among some concerned citizens and some school board members that erupted about how the rights and responsibilities handbook described, in lurid detail, a fictitious yet distrurbing scenario where a student was victimized by sexting,  then bullied, traumatized, and ultimately this young student committed suicide.  It was a bad move many thought for young students to be exposed to this at school--  even though sadly this sort of stuff ---and worse---does happen in real life here and around the country and parents need to discuss these sorts of issues with their children.  Parents need to do this. 

And this comes on the heels of some videos that many thought were outright racist as they apparently were demeaning toward white people.

And also after a recent push to eliminate the valedictorian and salutatorian from graduations--which was an initiative that ultimately failed because the school board said no.  

And I have heard other complaints as well.

Look, this is a conservative community, center right--not a woke leftist enclave.  Look at the voter registration numbers.  So yes, when some of these garbage ideas make their way into schools, I'm glad they are batted back.  But I'm also glad that the voters voted in the appointed superintendent model in 2018 so the superintendent can be hired and supervised and ultimately held accountable by the board for trying to bring this sort of stuff to Escambia County.  In the past, that wasn't the case and often the board was left in the dark, left in the dust, and the only initiatives that moved forward were the ones one guy wanted--the elected superintendent of schools.  Read all about Newpoint.....that's just one example of many.  There was one time, under the former superintendent (elected) that all 5 board members balked at his idea to convert deans to 3rd assistant vice principals to do paperwork at Ransom Middle School with fewer deans to handle the discipline issues--which were legion.  All five of us said "no way", yet that superintendent did it anyway, over the objections of 5 duly elected board members.  And there were other examples.  

It's not that way anymore though.  Thankfully.

So the school board members now who requested a discussion on the agenda last night on the current superintendent had every right to do so.

AND the other three who voted to remove that discussion item from the agenda had every right to do that.

Whether it is the county or the school board--you have to count to three to get anything done.  So three people didn't want the discussion and that is that.

(When I was a school board member under an elected superintendent, I had multiple agenda items I attempted to put under "Board Items" on the agenda but was never permitted to do so.  Now, under the appointed superintendent model--this happens--which is a good thing!)

The bottom line now is the School Board is in charge, they run the show, and the Superintendent is their employee.  But the board sets the vision, makes the policy, and runs the show.  So the pent-up anger and frustration should be directed at the board----not their employee.  Hold the school board members responsible if they are not hiring a superintendent who is following their vision, policy, and rules.  Getting "mad" at the superintendent lets the school board off the hook.  Don't let them off the hook if you are mad.  

And make no mistake--it's not about the structure of the superintendent.  The voters spoke in 2018 and we have the correct model now.  We didn't before.

So now the insidious strawman side of this whole story appears from many posters and commenters on various online chat sites and has manifested this current issue--employee discipline and/or counseling/performance evaluation over questionable initiatives and practices---into an attack on the appointed superintendent model the voters approved in a referendum 4 years ago.  Yes, they don't care about Superintendent Smith--they don't like him, are ambivalent about him at best, and it really isn't about him even though that's what they are saying it is..

They simply want to go back in time to a point where they can "elect" their own "Boss Hogg" superintendent again.  That's what it's all about.  Angry their side lost in 2018--anything that happens now with the new, appointed superintendent is their strawman to knock down and say "See---I told you we should have never given up our right to vote for our superintendent, see!"

Yes, they are using this episode and Dr. Smith in this pursuit.  He is the strawman here.  I happen to

Elected or Appointed Superintendent of Schools Part I

Inweekly has a piece in their current issue regarding the debate surrounding which model is better for a school district:  Elected Board/Elected Superintendent, or Elected Board/Appointed Superintendent.

I've been contacted by three separate individuals/entities over the last two weeks, all of whom wanted my opinion on the subject of what the best model is for our schools locally.

I'm of the firm belief that we desperately need an appointed superintendent, hired by an elected board, evaluated annually, and accountable to the board.  A system like this, which is utilized in more than 99% of school districts nationwide, eliminates the friction between a "strong" elected superintendent and an elected board.

It also makes an elected school board less of an after the fact, rubber-stamp board, left out of most of

Quint Studer on Why We Should Appoint rather than Elect our Superintendent of Schools in Escambia County

Nationally-renowned speaker, writer, and entrepreneur Quint Studer-- CEO of Studer Community Institute--joins Escambia County Commission Chairman Jeff Bergosh for a discussion about the need for Escambia County to move from the antiquated model of an “Elected Superintendent of Schools” to the modern, efficient “appointed” Superintendent of Schools model.  This decision will rest in the hands of Escambia County Voters this November—as it will be on the ballot for the people to decide.  And Studer makes a compelling case for modernizing our system via moving to the “Appointed” system like 99.6% of the rest of our nation’s schools.  Watch the brief interview with Quint Studer, above, to hear his thoughts on this pressing topic.

(I have long-supported the appointed model for many reasons, and I have often written about this topic here on this blog...Interestingly, in 1967, Escambia County Voters came up just ONE (1) vote short of going to the appointed superintendent like the rest of the nation does.  Hopefully in 2018 we can get this passed and move our education system, locally, into the 21st Century!)

What Do Escambia's School Advisory Council Members Want in our First Elected Superintendent?

Citizens participate in the first of five community forums for gathering input and ideas to help the ECSD hire their first appointed superintendent of schools 

The Escambia School District will be hiring our area's first "appointed" superintendent of schools next year--which the voters authorized in last year's election.  And this "change"  is a great thing in my opinion! (One I have long supported)

 Ahead of this historic transformation, however, the school board has scheduled a number of public input sessions so that feedback from the community can be forwarded to the school board on a very important matter:  What type of person does our school district need?

This is a topic of particular import right now, and quite timely.  

(The NAS Pensacola CO has made news with his reasonable requests and comments about the quality of schools near NAS Pensacola currently.  These comments drew a very supportive editorial from our daily newspaper--supporting our CO of NAS Pensacola and excoriating our current elected superintendent of schools.)

The first meeting for community input was bootstrapped right behind an already scheduled meeting of area schools' advisory councils.  Although the meeting was advertised to begin at 5:30--when I arrived early at 5:20 I found a closed door at the meeting venue with the meeting already in progress.

I asked at the door as I signed in "Wasn't this supposed to start at 5:30?" to which I was told by the ECSD Public Affairs spokesman "They just started a few minutes ago, right after the school advisory committee meeting ended."

I was directed to join one of the 11 tables of 5-8 citizens already formed in the meeting hall.  Each table spoke among one another to find answers to the following three questions, (paraphrased from memory) in this order:

1.  What are the district's current strong points?
2.  What are the district's big challenges?
3.  What qualities, attributes should our first appointed superintendent possess?

I found a seat at the table that had folks from Lipscomb Elementary school.

So the meeting was a hybrid focus group/brainstorming session, with each small group table answering questions and then sharing answers with the entire crowd.  At the conclusion of the question creation part of the meeting---the answers to each main question were hung on the wall-at which point every individual attendee was permitted to identify/signify his/her top four (4) most important answers to the questions on the large sheets of paper on the wall.  This was accomplished via placement of individual stickers on these questions by each attendee--with only four stickers given to the participants.  The logic behind this is/was so that the FSBA facilitator can take the raw data and participant selections--prioritized by the number of stickers beside each question--and sort this data from most to least important and provide this information to the school board (who were not present at the meeting)

Citizens participate in the first of five community forums for gathering input and ideas to help the ECSD hire their first appointed superintendent of schools

From my perspective and from what I overheard--some of the most pressing priorities from the group were as follows:

1. The need for a better discipline process and a more rapid removal of violent and aggressive students — without months of observations and endless checklists 
2. The need to bring the data clerks back to the individual schools 
3. The need to hire an experienced professional educator with admin experience and a track record of success with areas of generational poverty 
4. The need to hire someone who is not an insider or beholden to local monied interests and the good old boy network.

Progress is Coming to North Florida...Hopefully

Collier County School Board Member Erika Donalds (Chair, CRC Small Government Committee, Past-President of the Florida Coalition of School Board Members) closes on her initiative to make all Superintendents of Schools statewide appointed rather than elected positions, 12-14-2017

While the rest of the world is spinning and most of Florida is busily moving through their collective day today, a HUGE event is taking place in Tallahassee.

Today is the day Progress is Coming to North Florida....Hopefully.

The Constitution Revision Commission local government committee just voted to move forward to the full commission two important items:

By a 5-1 vote, a constitutional amendment mandating term limits for elected school board members; and

By a 4-2 vote, a constitutional amendment to make ALL Superintendents of Schools statewide appointed positions (appointed by the elected board of education like the rest of the world already does....)

These two issues are huge, absolutely imperative to moving our educational system, statewide (and locally in Escambia County), into the 21st century.

The committee was lobbied heavily today--with a large contingent of local (elected) superintendents from the panhandle and North Florida coming to today's hearing to plead their case.  It wasn't enough to move the needle, though.  Committee moved the initiative despite the lobbying by a  4-2 vote.

Now the major-league, statewide lobbying begins in earnest.  Getting this passed by the full commission will be a much tougher, much heavier lift. I will begin by doing my part to get this moving forward immediately--starting today.  We need a system of appointed superintendents of school statewide.  It is an Absolute must have!!!!!

I can't wait to speak before the CRC when they come to Pensacola for their listening tour!!!!!!!!!

Going Back to Tally Part III: Important Initiatives Move Forward!

I was in Tallahassee for political purposes in 1985 (Left picture) in 2007 (center-with Sen. Gaetz and Gov. Crist for the Merit Pay Bill signing ceremony) and yesterday to push for appointed superintendents of school statewide.  I've been going to to Tallahassee for Decades...

I took a day off of work yesterday in order to do something important:  I went to Tallahassee to testify about some important statewide issues that are going through the process to be placed on the ballot in 2018 as Constitutional Amendments.  Listen to the interview I gave to AM1620 on this topic here.

As I discussed here and here--going to Tallahassee is something I have done frequently over the years--beginning way, way back in 1985 when I was still in High School!  And because important proposals were to be voted on yesterday in the Education Sub-Committee of the CRC---- yes, I wanted to be there to speak.

Four main issues were discussed:  Class Size, Appointed vs Elected Superintendents, School Board Term Limits, and ending School Board Salaries.

I hold strong opinions on all of these issues.

---I support easing the class size mandate (or doing away with it altogether if feasible) to the extent we are able to do so because I have been unable to see data that points to any measurable increase in student achievement due exclusively to smaller class sizes.  Meanwhile, having this cap exacerbates our teacher shortage, limits our ability to increase teacher pay, and creates a situation where funding required to meet the law is not fully provided (unfunded mandate)--incentivizing some large districts to intentionally violate the cap with no significant penalties assessed (which has happened).  In the words of one panelist at yesterday's meeting "I would rather have a large class size with one amazingly talented teacher than a small class size with a marginal teacher"  I agree.

--I do not support eliminating school board salaries--I lived that job and those positions should be paid in my opinion.  (this measure did not pass out of committee)

-- I strongly support the amendment proposal to make all superintendents of schools, statewide, appointed rather than elected.  This arcane, anachronistic throwback model of school district governance and operation  is well past due for a change.  Of the nation's 15,500 or so public school districts------99.4% have figured this out and have moved to the correct structure:  Elect members of the board of education, and allow the board to hire the most qualified, highly-skilled and educated superintendent they can get from a nationwide pool.  (note:  this proposal passed favorably out of the meeting by a 6-2 vote, with Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart voting in support of this amendment proposal.)  We also learned yesterday that the bottom 10 districts if Florida, in terms of performance, have elected rather than appointed superintendents of schools.  Time for a change, time for us to enter the 21st century on this issue.  As Bruce Buffer would scream----It's time.

--I support term limits for elected school board members--did not speak to the proposal but waived in support. (this proposal passed unanimously)

Watch the videos of the entire proceeding  on the Florida Channel here and here.

Say YES to Reduce Politics in Education!

Voters can reduce political influences in our public school system by voting YES on November 6th for Escambia County Schools to move to an appointed superintendent model.  In 1967 this very same question failed county-wide by the margin of ONE (1) vote.  Imagine where we might be 51 years later if that vote had passed?

People are sick and tired of politics.  Every day, in the news, infused in our life…politics.

On TV, online, on the radio—everywhere.  

It’s almost a dirty word because we’re all so sick of it.

Unfortunately, we’ll never be able to take politics out of every aspect of our lives—most people understand this reality.

But “politics” has no place in educating our children!

And there’s ONE thing each of us can do on November 6^th to minimize the political nature of our education system locally.

Vote YES for an appointed superintendent at the end of your ballot. 

Vote YES to empower your Elected Board of Education to engage a professional committee to find the very best educational specialist--from a nationwide search--to administer Escambia’s schools.

Vote YES to make our top schools administrator a professional position--NOT a political one!

Because Escambia’s children deserve a professional, non-political administrator focused on student achievement –NOT a politician driven by political pressure, donor whims, fear of negative media, and the ever-present election-cycle calendar.

Say YES to allow your school board to set the performance standards, enforce policy, and supervise the administrator.

  

Leave the politics to our elected board of education, where it should rest.  Make your voice be heard through their elections.

After all, every two years county voters have a crack at multiple members of the elected board of education.

Under our current, antiquated system,  the elected board and the elected superintendent can shrug their respective shoulders, and play the blame game back and forth ad nauseum… "It’s because of Tallahassee and their lack of funding…” or “We need more [fill in blank] …”

It becomes cyclical Kabuki theater that allows all concerned to avoid responsibility—and a politically
 comfortable status quo is maintained in perpetuity to the detriment of our students while the same politicians are elected over and over and over and nothing changes.

We must do better though--our students' collective futures demand no less!

Under the modern, well-accepted appointed superintendent model--the board can immediately remove the superintendent  if performance targets are not met or if board policy is not dutifully and faithfully implemented...no more waiting 4 long years until the next election.  No more politics of the election calendar stifling and stymieing decision making.

Skeptics of this change need only ask themselves these simple questions:

If you found yourself in the terribly unfortunate circumstance of being diagnosed with a life-altering medical condition, and you could seek out the best treatment available in the world, would you self-limit your treatment options to only the doctors and only the hospitals located in Escambia County Florida? 

If you were on the board of directors of a large corporation and you needed a new CEO to improve poor performance—or else your company would face insolvency--would you self- limit your CEO search ONLY to current company employees and ONLY in the geographical area in which your company was incorporated?

If you were a trustee of a top Division I College, and a decision was made to hire the best coach for your school's struggling football team from “out of the state”—would you really think that idea was bad?

The answer to each question above is NO—and you know it. 

So, let’s change Escambia’s educational paradigm locally and appoint the BEST professional school administrator like 48 of 50 U.S. states already do in 2018.

Let’s elect solid, passionate school board members and mandate that they hire the BEST administrator to run the schools like more than 99% of our nation’s 15,000 school systems already do in 2018.

Under an appointed model:

-Qualified local applicants for the Superintendent position are allowed and encouraged.

-Voters are given MAXIMUM power over the performance of the system by demanding their school board member(s) perform—otherwise they may be voted-out of office via two-year staggered elections.

-Your voice and your vote are NOT lost—they are intensified and magnified.

On November 6^th ---we can improve Escambia’s public-school governance model.

But it depends on you.

Please put students, parents, and teachers ahead of politics.

Please vote YES for Escambia Schools at the end of your ballot on November 6th.

Boss Hogg Thinks the Superintendent Should Resign, Too! Dadgummitt! (A Parody)

Look a here, boy, I'll give you 5 good reasons why you'all need an elected leader like me for your schools!

Retired Hazzard County “Sole Commissioner” Boss Hogg liked being in charge.  He liked having a hand in everything that happened.  He also was known to “look the other way” when necessary to protect his interests (financial, image, power, and otherwise).  Most of all, he loved the fact that he only had to win an election every four years to maintain his power.   And despite the ups and downs of the quality of life in Hazzard County—which could be downright third-worldish--people still liked Boss anyway because he could use his “bully-pulpit” and his “power” to always find someone else to blame the county’s problems on—while simultaneously absolving himself of ANY responsibility.  He could and DID direct lucrative county contracts to wealthy Hazard business owners and elites and his buddies to curry favor with them. And it worked.  Hazzard county remained hopelessly mediocre. But Boss Hogg did just fine and got rich anyway—and re-elected 14 times!

Problems, crime, corruption, lingering poverty, moonshiners, drag racing, drug running-- Boss Hogg didn’t care as long as he was in on the cut of the action and could never be “implicated”.  He would not share his power, either---no, no, no sir--and he never did like the pesky interference of those Duke boys, Bo and Luke, who may not have been perfect angels, but loved Hazard County and wanted it to be the best it could be for the citizens.

So, I recently had the opportunity to speak with the retired Hazzard County Commissioner, Boss Hogg, about the goings-on at the Escambia County School District down here in Florida---and I wondered what Boss Hogg would think of the brew ha ha festering over the appointed versus elected superintendent issue here—along with the calls for the current superintendent, Dr. Tim Smith,  to resign. (Hogg only retired upon suffering a massive stroke and heart attack simultaneously which prevented him from running for his 15^th term in office….)

  “Well let me tell you right now, boy, you’all made a HUGE mistake down there going from elected to appointed—that was your first problem!”  He continued, between puffs of his cigar.  “I mean, no wonder everyone wants this guy Tim Smith to quit.  He wasn’t elected by the people, boy, and even though he is professional, has experience in this school business stuff, looks the part, loves kids and teachers, and has fancy-schmancy education credentials—I think it’s better to elect the superintendent locally—because knowing the area and who the players are in the local business community is more important than any stinkin’  credentials, experience, or college degree, boy!”

When asked to list the reasons why the elected superintendent is the way to go for Escambia County, Hogg opened up like a North Georgia Frog-strangler downpour.  He took a long draw from his fat cigar, inhaled two donuts simultaneously, gulped a big sip of sweet tea from his tumbler, leaned forward, and let loose.

1.        “NUMBER 1---Listen here—when you elect someone local-like—you get someone you know, someone who will make sure other local people he likes gets all the good jobs and contracts—it don’t have to be all about fancy-schmancy diplomas and degrees, boy.”  And, once someone like me gets the “right” people into the good jobs and big contracts—they can be controlled by me because they “owe me” boy!  You see what I’m saying?  “You can put them employees on one year contracts, make them ask permission to speak at meetings, humiliate them,intimidate them, mistreat them, and even make them contribute to your re-election campaign, boy!  It’s a perfect set up—they work for you, they owe you, so come election time they are on team Boss Hogg, boy!” He continued: "Best of all--when you are elected you can hire a stooge that kisses your ring to be your 'investigator' to trump up charges and make stuff up to get rid of those pesky employees that you don't like!  and the stinkin' school board can't do nothing to stop you, boy, cause they don't even know what your're doing!" He concluded as he chuckled loudly and then belched...

2.       “NUMBER 2---I know, I know—being a fancy-schmancy school superintendent---it’s different than being a sole commissioner in Hazzard County Georgia—because when you are the superintendent in Escambia County--you have that elected school board thing that kind of takes away your power and gets in your way---especially if you’re not “elected.”   “But look a here:  If you are elected it is better, because you can listen to that pesky school board and what they say, act like you care, tell them you will do something--- then do the exact opposite anyway!!—and that stinkin’ school board can’t touch you for it—cause you’re elected!  If you’re appointed, you have to be nice and polite and actually work or else they can FIRE YOU!  BORING!!

3.       “NUMBER 3---Boy, let me tell you something.  If you ain’t strong and elected as a superintendent—the school board can actually add things to the agenda that you don’t agree with!  No, no, no—being elected is better because then you can tell the school board to talk to the hand and block their items from the agenda and say something like ‘I ain’t adding your stinkin’ item to my agenda because to do that would lead people to think I support what you are bringing—and I DON’T’!! now run along, shoo..”  The other neat trick you can use is NEVER telling them stinkin' school board members about serious issues like with charter schools stealing and not following their contracts and violating student safety  and such, and discipline policy not being followed, or misconduct.  No, no, no.  That bad press could hurt the next election, so when you are elected you guard that information and shape the message, boy—and NEVER tell the stinkin’ school board nothin'--- or else they might start askin too many darn questions and cause a ruckus in the press, boy!!

Boss Hogg liked having ALL the power and all the donuts, too....

4.   “NUMBER 4---Now look a here, when you are elected you can raise a lot of money—trust me” he chuckled as he pointed to his rings and his all-white custom suit. “This stuff is expensive boy, you know what I’m saying, here?”  He continued.  "When you have an elected superintendent—his buddies the roofers and floor coverers and plumbers and the framers and the air-conditioner men, and the painters can get a lot of work— and they will!!!  Then they can fund his campaign account every 4 years—and they will, boy, trust me on that—because that’s how that works--they scratch my back, I scratch theirs!" He said through a sip of his sweet tea, as he demolished donuts one after the other and took another long puff of his fat cigar.  “Look here now, when you are boring-old appointed superintendent—you don’t care about elections, and purchasing services and contracts boy, you only care about the work and staff and the school board makes those other decisions—and let me just tell you right now—that is boring!!  Ya see cause when you’re elected you get to control people in the system, the money,

Honky-Tonk Friday on the Wake Up Call: Quint Studer on the Upcoming Elected/Appointed Superintendent Ballot Question

Today on the wake-up call live on WPNN 103.7—we welcomed to the program community leader and Pensacola business icon Quint Studer to the show.  He and I discussed the upcoming ballot question on the elected versus the appointed Superintendent of Schools which will be decided August 18^th.  He gave his rationale for why we in Escambia County should stick with the appointed model—and I AGREE.  After his interview, we discussed hard hitting local, national and international stories of interest- covering multiple topics from around the country that traditional media outlets just won’t cover—in ways and at a depth they never will show you!

We are live each weekday morning from 6:00AM-8:00AM on WPNN-Pensacola's Information Station, where local, conservative morning-drive talk radio is ALIVE and Well and where we give you the most powerful 2 hour(s) in local morning drive talk radio.

Pensacola's only conservative, local morning drive talk show giving you information, weather, traffic, humor, and educated, intelligent discourse with no PC filters....The Wakeup Call with Jeff Bergosh on WPNN FM 103.7: Radio UNRESTRAINED!

Check out the whole show here

Escambia County Needs a Leader Like This Guy to be Superintendent of Schools

I believe Harrison Peters would be an excellent candidate to lead Escambia's schools as their first "appointed" Superintendent of Schools....I hope he applies for the job! 

As my wife and I watched our son Nick graduate from UWF earlier this year, we were both blown away by the commencement speaker.  He was articulate, charismatic, and dynamic.

Come to find out, as we heard further along in his speech, he is actually from Pensacola--a product of our local schools!

He served in the military, got his education from USF in Tampa, he then taught school and worked his way up and into administrative leadership in the Tampa Bay area-ultimately becoming the Deputy Superintendent of the Hillsborough County School District--one of the nation's largest public school districts.

 I remember talking at that time to my wife and others about this person and saying, enthusiastically:

"This is the guy that needs to apply to be Escambia's first appointed Superintendent of Schools!"

Others have floated his name out there as someone who should apply, too.

As recently as last week at the first workshop held by Escambia Schools to discuss hiring our first appointed superintendent--a person sitting at my table at this event mentioned this same individual, Harrison Peters.

And come to find out--this person at my table knows this man from Hillsborough County--- and has been trying to convince him to apply once the job is put out and advertised!

I truly believe a man like this, with his credentials and bonafides in education, with his knowledge of Pensacola, with his military service, with his charisma,---he would be a tremendous help here in Escambia County.

With his background and the fact that he is Black--he would be a strong role model for many students in our district.  Many.  He would be the complete package that we need! He could really help some of our most challenged schools--just by being selected.  And I believe once selected (if he were to be selected)--our schools could improve dramatically and a lot quicker than if we simply take the path of least resistance and "slot" some current district employee into the Superintendent position.....which is what I fear may happen.

Here's my opinion as a former School Board Member in this county, a product of these schools, a parent of 3 children who graduated from these schools, a person who has taught in 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms, a person who holds a Master's Degree in Administration and who is a current Escambia County Commissioner: (...and all this plus $5.00 will get you a cup of starbucks coffee)

1.  We need a bold, new change of course in our schools and a dynamic NEW leader to reverse our decreasing enrollment trend by luring  good families  and their children BACK from private schools and other local school districts by enforcing discipline, raising standards, and respecting teachers.
2.  We DO NOT need an insider to come in and usurp the vote of the people by becoming the next "defacto, shadow-elected" superintendent of schools--even if this person is a "swell-guy" that graduated from Tate High School.
3.  We don't need an "Interim Superintendent"--we need to make a clean break from the past and let Malcolm Thomas leave next year as we welcome his replacement simultaneously.
4.  We need someone who can lead transformative change in the inner-city schools of Escambia County where we have consistently struggled.

Newpoint Chapter Comes to a Close….Vindication

People lost their careers and went to jail--just as I correctly predicted when I learned about the Newpoint cover-up in late March of 2015.  This whole fiasco also helped pass the appointed superintendent model locally --a historic silver lining for Escambia that was, in part, born of the Newpoint mess

If you steal from the state, if you steal from students, if you try to cheat the system—eventually it will catch up to you and the wrongs will be righted.

So it is with some satisfaction that now we see another person involved in the Newpoint Charter Schools fiasco get sentenced tojail.  Good—that is a good outcome. Rip off teachers, steal money from kids, you deserve to go to jail so far as I’m concerned.

But that is an outcome that almost didn’t happen…and it happened too late for the taxpayers (the school got bonuses for BOGUS test scores before the whole thing tumbled down on them…) and it happened too late for many students that were subjected to that school and all of its spectacular dysfunction for far too long to keep negative headlines out of the press.

As a staunch school-choice and charter school supporter—it is and was somewhat ironic that I was the board member that received the whistle blower’s complaint and ACTUALLY did something with the information.  If I had not blown this up—my prediction is that Newpoint would still be operating in Escambia County today.  Sad, right?

I won’t rehash how it all went down-but there are a few of us that know the whole truth. For those that want to know the truth about how it went down, and what the Judge meant when he referred to “misfeasance” by public officials in his sentencing yesterday—I’d suggest the following blog posts (here here here here here and here) as a primer.  You'll get the flavor if you read them.

The nefarious conduct at Newpoint was being actively swept under the rug by district staffers at the behest of the superintendent’s office throughout 2014 and into early 2015.  That is a fact, and it is also factual that multiple staff members told me this point blank:  “We were told NOT to tell the school board about all the problems at Newpoint.” (these employees and the Newpoint Whistle Blower were the heroes of this story—they risked their jobs by telling me and doing the right thing)

I made the decision to unilaterally report the misconduct to the State Attorney’s Office, over the strenuous objections of the Superintendent, when I went to his office to confront him about the accusations.  He told me I was wrong.  “You are making a mistake –you  are wrong!” he yelled. 

Here’s the thing, though.  I was right, and he was wrong.  He was a part of the problem and he is

Federalist Society of the Emerald Coast Welcomes Senator Rick Scott to Pensacola

Senator Rick Scott speaks to the audience at McGuire's Irish Pub on Saturday, March 2, 2024 in Pensacola

Senator Rick Scott was the featured speaker and special guest of the Federalist Society of the Emerald Coast this past Saturday afternoon.  The Senator was on a swing through the panhandle where he made several stops to speak before various groups.

At the Federalist Society meeting, which was attended by about 70 local elected officials, former elected officials, attorneys, judges and magistrates--Senator Scott sat down and fielded questions in a "fireside chat" format, with local chapter President and Circuit Court Judge Gary Bergosh facilitating the discussions and asking the questions.

The discussion began with levity.  "You and I have a few things in common--you were adopted, and I was as well" said Bergosh.  "We've got the same haircut, too!" quipped Scott immediately, to some laughter in the room.  

"I know that you spent time in the military, how did that influence you in business and later in your public service?" Bergosh next asked Scott.

"They don't get paid enough, that's what I learned" quipped Scott.  Anyone have a guess on what I made when I was in the Navy?"  He paused briefly before answering his own question.  "$332.00 per month."  he continued "So I learned about how the chain of command worked, and I saw firsthand how the military was being treated at that time [post-Vietnam War] and it was very bad." he added.

"As Governor, you appointed a lot of Judges to the bench."  Bergosh asked.  "What was your thought process as you made those decisions?"  He had the number at the tip of his tongue.  "431 judges---we appointed 431.  And we looked around the state and saw that there were no women on the bench.  So we were able to appoint a lot of women and minorities to the bench.  And it was simple.  Be nice, and follow the law.  You don't get to make law as a judge, I don't as Governor, so be nice and don't try to make laws was the criteria we used" said the Senator.

The next topic for disccussion was the transition Scott had to make once he left the Executive Branch as the Governor of Florida and won a seat in the United States Senate and became a member of the  in 2018.  "I was the Governor, and I had power, but the power was limited and most of the decisions and operations were handled by the various department and division heads." he stated.  "But the real difference is that Washington is broken, it is a broken system.  Nobody gets held accountable, nobody ever gets fired.  Right now there is a COVID outbreak in Washington DC---nobody is working in their office.  When I ask during hearings if employees are back in the office, I get all kinds of explanations.  But they are not back in the office working when everyone else is" said Scott.

When asked about the dysfunction in DC that we all see, Scott ended with a lot of colorful commentary and then some hopeful optimism.  "Washington is broken. The senate Majority and Minority Leaders raise hundreds of millions of dollars and this allows them to have incredible power.  A handful of us don't need their money to win -- but most Senators need the money.  In my first election, the other party spent $65 Million against me.  There are only a half-dozen or so races each cycle that are competitive so these races generate a lot of attention.  We spend money and we are 35 Trillion in Debt----So the system is broken..... But we will fix it!" The Senator stated as he ended his answer.

As Senator Scott exited the venue, he took time to speak to attendees individually and to shake everyone's hand.

While the media often portray Scott as an unconcerned, aloof introvert--this recent meeting proves the opposite--as Scott was personable, funny, and approachable.  

And those in attendance saw this reality firsthand.

The Wake Up Call Live from Tallahassee: Interview with Newly-Appointed PSC Trustee Todd Leonard

Today on the wake-up call live on WPNN 103.7 –we welcomed to the show Todd Leonard, Athletic Director at West Florida H.S. and newly appointed member of the PSC Board of Trustees.  We talked about the appropriate way to protest, parents disrupting youth sporting events, the state of Christianity today, and the Christian Men’s Group Micah 6 8 that Leaonard formed a number of years back.   After the Todd Leonard interview—we went through a list of local, national and international stories of interest- discussing multiple topics from around the country that traditional media outlets just won’t cover.

We are live each weekday morning from 6:00AM-8:00AM on WPNN-Pensacola's Information Station, where local, conservative morning-drive talk radio is ALIVE and Well and where we give you the most powerful 2 hour(s) in local morning drive talk radio.

Pensacola's only conservative, local morning drive talk show giving you information, weather, traffic, humor, and educated, intelligent discourse with no PC filters....The Wakeup Call with Jeff Bergosh on WPNN FM 103.7: Radio UNRESTRAINED!

Check out Todd Leonard’s Interview here

Check out the show for Thursday, here

Thought's on the Gun Violence Reduction Task Force Meeting

Are guns the problem?  Or--is it crime, drugs, societal breakdown, breakdown of the family, un-diagnosed mental health issues, rank social dysfunction, and a culture of violence in some pockets of the community that leads to  and manifests itself as the "gun-violence" we've seen in Escambia County?

Yesterday evening from 5:30-7:00 PM Sheriff Chip Simmons hosted the final Brownsville Gun Violence Reduction Task Force Meeting at the Brownsville Community Center.

About 100 citizens attended, as well as locally elected and appointed officials to include three county commissioners (myself included), the county administrator, a city councilman, our state senator, one of our two state representatives, multiple representatives from the school board- to include the Superintendent and one school board member- as well as others associated with the court system and the media.

The objective:  To hear public input and for each stakeholder to report in on the specifics of what his/her organization has done and is doing to improve safety in the Brownsville community.

My counterpart, Commissioner Lumon May, kicked the discussion off by listing a huge amount of projects and initiatives the county had undertaken in Brownsville.  Stormwater infrastructure, sidewalks, community centers, sports leagues (tennis and basketball) a new library in Brownsville, the youth employment program, the construction of affordable homes, and a host of other programs.

Similarly-the newly appointed interim superintendent of schools discussed some initiatives he will be bringing back, to include peer-to peer mentoring and conflict resolution strategies.  He also reported that he will be a partner to the Sheriff in creating a safe atmosphere in schools.

Interestingly--a majority of public speakers chastised the sheriff and law enforcement in particular--saying they felt "Brownsville was being over policed" and multiple speakers pushed back on the Sheriff for saying the violence and murders thus far this year has been chiefly "black on black."   After a number of speakers expressed dismay that the sheriff would use this term--he (Sheriff Simmons) gave the stark facts.  "There have been thirteen murders in the county this year.  All thirteen perpetrators were black, as were 11 of the 13 victims.  These are the facts and I am not going to hide this" he stated to the room which was silent upon hearing this enlightening, factual statistic.

I spoke and thanked the stat for funding mental health facilities in the community and I focused on mental health (undiagnosed, untreated) as a big factor in the violence we see.  I also discussed some of the economic development initiatives the county has undertaken to create more jobs here.  Finally, I ended my comments explaining how the county is approving new residential development so that the extra supply will help to ease the housing affordability issue we are seeing area wide.

The meeting ended on a note of optimism with several speakers giving praise for the group's efforts and work.  One young man in particular keyed into what I said about mental health shortcomings in the community leading to the violence.  He gave his own story-- a violent recovering addict who is changing and celebrating 8 years of sobriety while also giving back and mentoring folks in the community where he now lives (Jacksonville).  His story was compelling.

We will have more of these sorts of roundtables going forward.  Potential next topics were enunciated by the Sheriff:

Fentanyl crisis

The Clergy's role in community issues

Gentrification

School issues

So look for community action and meetings to come on these topics.

Resolutions For Board Consideration

I'm bringing three discussion items and three resolutions for the special School Board meeting to be held this Tuesday, 30 Sept. at 4:00 PM at the Hall Center.  The resolutions can be found here.

The Board has requested this meeting to address lingering concerns, in multiple areas, arising from this month's regular meeting-a meeting none of us will soon forget due to the way in which it devolved so spectacularly.

So at this Tuesday's meeting, which is unusual in some respects and unprecedented in others, we will be considering a vote on one resolution that "directs" our employee, the Board's General Counsel, to administer an investigation of numerous irregularities concerning athletic eligibility at several schools, allegations that have surfaced in the wake of the firing of Willie Spears.

Additionally, the board will be considering a vote on two resolutions that "request" the Superintendent, who is not our employee, he is elected, to bring recommended policy and/or procedure for enhancing physical security at future Board meetings and establishing a policy for a board vote that addresses the numerous athletic eligibility issues we are currently confronting and will be investigating.  Obviously, the intent is to address the issue now with good policy so as not to have these things continue.

While I characterize this meeting as unusual and I refer to some aspects of it as "unprecedented", and this may sound strange, I call this meeting this with good reason.  In past instances where the board and superintendent were at loggerheads over an issue, we have been congenial and tried to "work it out."  In one instance, the Board's audit committee and the Board requested one particular issue be

Going Back to Tally Part II: Encouraging the Commission to End the Election of School Superintendents

The Florida Constitution Revision Commission has finalized the list of 103 items for consideration, for addition to the 2018 ballot.  All of these items will not make the ballot.  Several are similar.  Any that make it to the ballot require 60% voter approval for successful passage and subsequent addition to the Florida constitution.

#33 on the list is proposed amendment to make school superintendents appointed, rather than elected.

Currently, 99.4% of the 15,500 or so public school districts in the United States have moved to this model--with very good reason.

I've documented my tremendous support for appointed superintendents based upon many logical reasons--many of which I have delineated here on this blog.   To summarize the most important reason is simple.  The position of Superintendent -when elected-- undermines the elected board's ability to properly govern, allows for any 18 year old resident of a county to run for and win such a position, and injects too much politics into the job.  This is why the vast majority of the rest of the world has moved away from electing the school superintendent, and this is why Florida must do the same!

As a ten year school board member in a district that elects its chief operating officer for schools and its board of directors--I saw first hand how dysfunctional and dangerous this arrangement can be.

In my experience:

--legitimate information that I had a right to see and requested was kept from me and withheld from my view and analysis by a deliberate act of the elected superintendent of schools that I worked with--he did not want me to know how badly the weak teacher evaluation tool was pencil whipped by several schools and school principals--he didn't want a headline!

--Important information that was known to the elected superintendent and his senior staff about some nefarious conduct occurring at a district charter school (including cheating on standardized tests and grade inflation to fraudulently earn a  higher school grade and state bonus money) was deliberately withheld from the board for over a year according to senior staff that reported this to me subsequent to a whistle-blower revelation. (superintendent did not want a messy headline in the lead up to his re-election announcement)

--All 5 board members disagreed, unanimously, with the initiative to convert School Deans to 2nd Asst. Principals (to handle paperwork instead of discipline) at our two largest Middle Schools.  Superintendent did this conversion anyway---over our objections.  He said we didn't understand why this was necessary and had to happen

--On multiple occasions, I submitted items to be added to a school board agenda--and the superintendent deliberately did not add these items to the agenda for discussion/consideration by the board.  Often, he did not want a headline or the board to discuss something for which he already had a firm position.

There are many other--too numerous to list--reasons why the elected school superintendent model is a relic of the past that must be changed.  I will testify about this on Monday;  I'll testify about why I feel it is essential that this item be one that is put on the ballot for statewide consideration so that Florida can move its public education system 100% into the 21st century, along with the rest of the nation.

Vote Yes to Fix a Broken, Backward System.....Vote YES on Tuesday For Escambia Schools!

The school district's enrollment has been declining over time, while the county's population (and neighboring public school districts' populations) have been increasing.  The governance structure is one MAJOR reason why.  This can be fixed on Tuesday with a YES vote for an appointed superintendent

I make no apologies for the tone of the below post.  I write this only because I fear the future course of this district if we do not fix the  underlying structure of this school system.  The current structure is a backwards, broken model.  I'll explain what I mean below, but first, I must say something important:

There is no magic bullet to fix our public school system locally.

Elected or Appointed--whoever the Superintendent is starting in 2020 will not possess a magic wand to fix the system.

But the current system is BROKEN.

How do I know?  Well, let's see: I have three kids that went through the system, I went through this same system, I've traveled and lived all over the country and the world in places that have GREAT public school systems, I have many friends and family members that have gone through this system and/or have had kids in this system or have worked in this system---and I spent 10 years of my life as a School Board Member in this system where all I tried to do was MAKE THE SYSTEM BETTER!

It is challenging on many fronts.  I''ll save space here but would point you to this post that describes the real problems in detail.

So knowing that we have unique challenges locally and that there is no panacea--we next go to the governance structure.

Is it really best to give all the power to one person?  I say NO.  That's why most districts do not give ALL POWER to the superintendent as we do here in Escambia.  What we do here is abnormal.

Sure, those who benefit from the current structure and those that do not understand the inner-workings of this district will say things like:

"The school board has to vote to terminate or hire employees---and they make policy and control the budget"  And sure, as a practical matter that is true--but it is much more complex than that.

Under our current, broken system:  The  board can only vote against a superintendent's employment recommendation for very specific causes as delineated in statute.  Translation--it does not happen.

The board can only create policy "upon the recommendation of the superintendent" which under the current system means simply "if the superintendent wants it and agrees with it"

And with respect to employment decisions:

Whoever the superintendent picks--is the person that fills the position.  Check the record if you don't believe me.

When it comes to termination recommendations--yes, the board has the final say.  But I will say that the superintendent's staff and all employees of the district (over 6,000 full, part-time, and contract employees) are 100% loyal to the superintendent only--as he and he alone approves their year-over-year contract renewals (except for tenured instructional personnel--who are becoming more and more rare since SB 736 was passed in 2011)--and so once a termination decision comes down from the superintendent's office, there is a huge force of loyalists that will lobby for the recommendation.  They don't have any loyalty, and show no deference, whatsoever, to school board members.  Why?  Because under this current structure the board has ZERO power to do anything unless and until the elected superintendent says "yes."  Zero power.

So a lot of employees are terrified to buck the system.

And heaven forbid a board member vote against a superintendent's employee recommendation.  Instant "pariah" status--there it is, you got it.

Look no further than the Coach Benny Washington Vote for proof...

We have MAJOR problems in our district that require a specialist that is fearless to confront.

Here is what we don't need, any more, in Escambia County schools......

--We don't need a system where employees are told NOT to share important information with school board members who are statutorily obligated to "supervise and control" public education.  We don't need any more Newpoint fiascos....

--We don't need a system where the superintendent forces school administrators to sweep SERIOUS

Fallen Redwood.........Something Not Revealed is NOT Something UnKnown

If the redwood falls in the forest and nobody is shown the video--trust me it still made a loud, crashing, and violent noise as it fell...... 

There is a saying we have all heard.....  If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, did it make a sound?

Obviously the answer is simple:  Of course that redwood made a loud, crashing sound as it fell....

But if nobody wants to know about it, and nobody was there to hear it, and nobody is shown the video-- it is easy to sell folks on the idea that it made no sound---- right?.

Answer:  NO

I purposely, late last Friday on a holiday weekend, submitted paperwork to run for re-election to  my current office on the board of county commissioners.  I love my job and I thank God daily for his blessing bestowed upon me that has allowed me to serve my neighbors in District 1 first on the school board and now on the county commission.

But I also do have one eye on our local schools. I worry about the direction we are going.....

Just two weeks ago, a poll was conducted regarding the position of school superintendent for our local public schools.  I did not request this poll, nor did I pay for it.

I did not publish the results once I got them two weeks ago, BUT neither  did anyone else.

I'm publishing them right now though.  Right here, right now, below.

READ THE REST OF THE STORY BY CLICKING "READ MORE" BELOW, LEFT..