Divided Vance shows Morrison's challenge

Incoming Superintendent Heath Morrison may be charismatic, energetic and eager to listen,  but the round of principal changes announced this week shows just how difficult his job will be.

Consider the transfer of Vance High principal Valarie Williams to Whitewater Middle School.  There were reports of Vance faculty cheering the announcement and sending celebratory tweets.  Those who don't like Williams will likely view the decision to move her and other principals as a sign that Morrison is bold and decisive  (interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh's name will be on all moves made before Morrison starts,  but as you'd expect,  CMS says Morrison is consulting on the changes and interviewing new principals).  By making the changes now,  rather than waiting until after he starts work July 1,  he allows more time for principals to settle into their new jobs before school starts Aug. 27.

But there are also Vance parents like Brian Broomfield,  who has worked with Williams to improve the school and views her transfer as "a slap in the face" to involved parents.  Who,  he wants to know,  was Morrison listening to when he signed off on such a move?

Former Superintendent Peter Gorman brought Williams, who was principal of Cochrane Middle School,  to Vance in February 2010 as a "strategic staffing" principal.  Her mission was to create a stronger faculty  --  that included the right to "displace" a handful of existing teachers and recruit new ones  --  and bump up academic results by the end of three years, which would have been 2013.

Broomfield says those changes predictably created some hard feelings on the faculty.  But he says Williams had Vance on the right track,  with everything from parent clean-up days to a mentoring program for fatherless young men to a football program that rallied community pride.  This year's test scores and graduation rates,  which haven't been released to the public,  will show gains,  he said.

"We have come so far along.  We have a partnership that's been established,"  Broomfield says.  "Now we're back to square one."

Morrison says improving staff morale and rebuilding public trust are his top priorities for his entry plan.  He's coming back to Charlotte for a few days starting Friday,  and he's bound to face tough questions from people like Broomfield.  Moving a principal without listening to the parents who worked with her is "a bad start for a trust factor,"  he says.

In every Charlotte appearance so far,  Morrison has talked about the importance of listening and clear communication.  But staff changes have always posed challenges when it comes to openness.  Can a superintendent let parents and teachers know when he's questioning whether a principal is right for the job?  Can he explain a decision that's of legitimate public interest without violating the rights and dignity of someone who has tackled a very difficult job?  Or will Morrison end up where so many superintendents before him have, with some variation of  "Can't talk; it's a personnel matter. Trust me and let's move on"?

We'll soon see.