Friday, April 20, 2012

Postmortem on the public parade

So Heath Morrison,  who's been tapped to Charlotte-Mecklenburg's next superintendent,  says he wasn't crazy about having to come to Charlotte for a public audition.  It's hard enough to announce you're leaving a district you love working for, he said.  Telling your board and your public that you're applying somewhere else but might be back  "creates some interesting dynamics."

Search firms and school boards face that issue every time there's a search.  Jim Huge of PROACT Search,  who ran the CMS search,  says the trend is toward districts bringing only one person to meet the public,  as the Dallas Independent School District is doing.  (As an aside,  that board has also sent members to visit finalist Mike Miles' district in Colorado before voting.)

Huge said the vast majority of PROACT's clients still bring more than one finalist before the public,  but Charlotte's two-day tour for three finalists was more extensive than most.  Board members got huge stacks of feedback forms and had follow-up conversations with many who met the trio.  While I've heard some skepticism that they paid attention,  every board member I talked to said they spent serious time reviewing the PROACT summaries and the individual forms.

The downside,  of course,  is that people who got excited about Memphis Superintendent Kriner Cash or CMS Chief Academic Officer Ann Clark were disappointed.  And both of them put themselves on the line without getting the job.

For Clark,  the whole thing played out on her home turf, with people she continues to work with.  During the two-day meeting marathon,  Clark said she found the events energizing rather than exhausting,  because  "I finally get to be Ann Clark."  She showed a more personal and engaging side of herself than people see in formal meetings and reports to the school board,  and she said afterward that she has no regrets.

She said her run for the top job inspired many former students to get in touch, including people in their mid-30s whom she taught as kindergarteners.  "That, to me, has been the most amazing part of this process,"  she said.  "I heard from kids from all over the globe."

Cash's candidacy inspired strong commentary for and against him,  from residents of Mecklenburg and  Memphis.  He apparently notified the school boards in both cities that he no longer wanted to be considered on Wednesday,  the day the CMS board was making its choice.  Late Thursday,  his staff sent this statement from him:  “After thoughtful consideration and the counsel of my family,  I made the decision to withdraw my name from the list of finalists.  We have made a tremendous amount of progress in Memphis City Schools during the last four years and it is my hope to see our students and staff members continue on an upward trajectory.  I congratulate CMS on the selection of their new superintendent and I wish them the best as they move forward."

It's interesting to speculate about what would have happened if Morrison had insisted that the board make a decision on him without a public tour.  But he did it and says he enjoyed it.  Certainly he made a good impression with a lot of the folks he met.

An amusing footnote:  When the CMS board did its first round of interviews at the airport,  hoping to keep the names and faces confidential,  WBTV reporter Dedrick Russell and I got past security and tried to spot contenders.  At one point,  Dedrick saw a man with a briefcase bearing some kind of educational leadership logo and asked if he was interviewing to be superintendent.

According to Dedrick's account,  the man said something like "Charlotte is certainly a nice place to be" and dashed off.  Dedrick used his phone to snap a photo of his retreating back,  and we spent the rest of the afternoon chuckling over whether he'd scared the poor guy off.

You guessed it:  That was Heath Morrison.

24 comments:

susan said...

That doesn't surprise me. He has to orchestrate his photo ops, and you guys blew it.

Anonymous said...

How'd you get past security? Or is that a trade secret?

Anonymous said...

All you have to do is buy a cheap one-way ticket to get by security. Observer increased their daily cost per paper 50% so this is easy.

Ann Doss Helms said...

Bought an expensive but fully refundable one-way ticket, then canceled it. I think Dedrick just talked his way through after seeing me cross the line. It's pretty amazing to watch the star power those TV folks have.

Bam Bam said...

"Bought an expensive but fully refundable one-way ticket, then canceled it."

Great. Now everyone knows.

Cameshia Dishawn Brown said...

Copied from another post:

CMS (see-A-Mess).

Anonymous said...

PROACT ran this search. Oh, man are you guys screwed. PROACT recommended a Fairfax County, Va. principal to the Huntsville City School system. A man who, after parents did some searching on after the contract for the position was offered to him, was uncovered to be involved in an alleged North Carolina land scam. Problem is, PROACT knew about all of this and never bothered to tell the Huntsville City School System and its board anything about it. Good luck with all of this as I hope PROACT did better by CMS.

Patso!Teaching said...

Ann.... Did you see Ann Clark's statement to the CMS staff on the CMS website? She is a class act! I hope that she gets a position somewhere else. She deserves it and I hope that I can follow. CMS will have to find someone else to fetch and carry for the new super.

Anonymous said...

Can the taxpayers get a refund if one of the top three drops out? This is the best a hundred thousand dollars can find? God Help Us All

Anonymous said...

I hope he treats the teachers better then Gorman or the current long term sub.. They are at school day in and day out...... My sons teacher was at the school last week until 8pm....... They start the day 6:30am.... Guns in school, fights, disrespect(from students,admin,parents), low pay and they still are in the schools year after year...

Anonymous said...

Why is this so special?? I know for a fact that every teacher and AP have to give permission for contact with their current employer before they will even be considered for a position. It is a mandatory part of your application called current employment history. Gone are the days when you could request confidentiality until you have the job. I know some horror stories where the principal lied about the person to keep them from getting the job, and then they were punitive when the person had to continue in their current position, even managing to ruin some careers.

Anonymous said...

Not much longer 12:05.................

"People talk about law and order
but they don't care,
they just don"t care."

Retired and broken down Marshal Mart Howe refusing to help Will Kane in High Noon (1952)
The same applies to public opinion of education and teachers.

Anonymous said...

Heath will need all the support we can give him. This is truly a disfunctional BOE.

Anonymous said...

It bothers me that getting past security was so easy and a non issue for the reporters. Disrespectful on several levels in my opinion.

Anonymous said...

The reporters just learned from what normal business people do daily. If teh Gov. makes a rule its always easy to find you way around it. The Obama fella never had a job in real world. I burn a ticket to meet folks flying thru all the time cost is $75-100 same as a lunch. Common sense says TSA should get a clue and step in , but they never do.

Anonymous said...

So is this going to move us forward in better Trust and teaching our kids? When Heath comes in town for good all the skeletons need to come out of closet for CMS. Then the community will consider a fresh start. Keep Morrison away from the CHamber, Pat Riles ( Allen Tate), Spanglers and that knuckle head Bill Anderson and we got a chance. I dont want him living within 5 miles of Gorman and I want to see the cell phone bill monthly showing no calls to St. Peter.

Anonymous said...

10:09

Too late.

Ann Doss Helms said...

10:05, you're eating very different lunches than I am!

Pamela Grundy said...

Perhaps three martinis are back in style.

Anonymous said...

I think some within CMS downtown still have 3-5 martinis at lunch. I think Scott Murri's entire ten year with CMS was laced with VODKA. How else could his department be so void of facts yet still take home a pay check? (Sweet Pete Gorman )Thanks Buddy !

Anonymous said...

In conclusion to PROACT , they brought us one prospect along with one loser. We had Ann internally and she was always in the picture. What a waste of over $150,000 on the data and recruitement of this guy Morrison. When you ask county for more money and they shut the door dont wonder why .

Anonymous said...

What could be done to improve the process is to invite them to a nice big BBQ get them liquored up and then ask what they really think about CMS. The winning candidate will be the one who can speak coherently and hold their liquor and opinions.

Anonymous said...

"Education is the "social equity issue" of our time." Heath Morrison

He will be well indoctrinated by the time he starts. He's been to the Breakfast Forum, I'm sure he will be taken to the Museum of the New South to learn how newcomers forced the end of busing upon the city, and perhaps he can top that off with lunch with Swann and Meck ACTS.

Anonymous said...

3:52- AWESOME, Swann what a bunch of dopes !