The Water Gardener wrote:
There are examples all over the internet. Some of the reasons could have been pulled directly from our current situation in Hebron. Here is a quote from one of the accusations against a school chief where the individual fails:
"to respond to the needs of teachers, maintain cooperative relationships, or make an effort to foster common ground when faced with difficult, divisive issues."
I hate to have to defend Mrs. Cruz, but I don't think this completely fits here. Take these one at a time.
It seems to me that she has not failed to respond to the needs of teachers - on the contrary, she is the one who keeps comparing our school budget expenditures to other schools and districts, on a cost per person basis where we fall on the lower end. By consistently bringing this up, she reinforces the union's arguments that they deserve big fat raises, and we lose in arbitration. Additionally, the teacher's union knew all too well that the superintendent (on behalf of the BOE) was merely going through the motions when they asked the teachers to accept a pay cut mid-contract.
Cooperative relationships - Mrs. Cruz has maintained cooperative relationships with the BOE, and the administration, teachers and staff at the schools, undoubtedly improved since she is no longer dealing with the Collins problems. Her relationship with the rest of the public, however, has been a challenge this year. On the one hand, her blog was a huge step in the right direction - providing the general public with information and attempting to explain why the board was taking the actions it did. On the other hand, some of the information was irrelevant, and too one-sided for the public to accept (especially the ADK nonsense). Her relationship with the BOS and BOF can be improved, especially as she and the BOE chair came away with a different understanding of the Jan 8th request for a zero percent increase. At the same time, I understand that members of the BOS and BOF have expressed appreciation to the superintendent for her assistance with not just the budget process, but also the search for a new town manager.
"make an effort to foster common ground when faced with difficult, divisive issues" Eh - I give up here. I got nothin. Mrs. Cruz certainly made an effort - but all of her efforts were toward convincing others to support her position.
I don't see what a vote of no confidence would accomplish.
