SEATTLE — While parents were getting ready for Thanksgiving, the Seattle School Board quietly positioned itself to hire a new superintendent of schools.
There was no announcement, the board just put some documents on the district's website as students were heading home for the holiday.
Those documents show board members planning to give interim superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland the permanent job at next Wednesday’s meeting.
All without conducting the traditional open search to find a new superintendent.
“What's done in the past is they set up community meetings-- meet and greets so that you can meet the finalists,” said Seattle education blogger Melissa Westbrook who got a tip and broke the news on Thanksgiving Eve
“To my mind there should have been a press release announcing this along with it appearing on the agenda,” Westbrook said. “That it isn't, should raise suspicion.”
The school board’s decision paper says if Dr. Nyland is not offered a permanent contract, then the search for a permanent superintendent will take several months and utilize valuable district resources and funds.
The board is poised to move ahead with him, despite recent missteps like failing to get board approval before signing a pre-school contract with the Gates Foundation.
Nyland is a 1966 graduate of Seattle's Roosevelt high. And despite her criticism of the process, Westbrook says he could turn out to be the right person.
“I have no problem with his background, I just would like to see who's out there because you are trying to get the best fit for our district.”
School Board President Sharon Peaslee and Vice President Betty Patu did not respond to phone calls on the holiday.
KIRO
