What Next and Why Now?

We have spoken to and corresponded with many people who are excited about the possibility of a change of leadership in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. As most of our visitors to this site know, on January 22, 2008 we asked Superintendent Gary McHenry to resign. People are beginning to ask what will occur if the Superintendent leaves.

Once we know the Superintendent is leaving, the Board will appoint an interim Superintendent who will take over while we search for a new Superintendent. There are current staff members and external candidates that would be able to fill this position. Once an interim Superintendent in place, the district will start a nationwide search for a permanent Superintendent. That process would include parents, district staff members, members of the business community, and all other affected stakeholders. Stakeholder involvement is very important to ensure that the new superintendent is widely supported.

The other question that has come up in our discussions is “With all that is going on right now with the budget cuts and employee contract negotiations, why now?” There are a multitude of reasons why the Superintendent needs to be replaced and why it should happen now.

This discussion will mostly focus on the now, but there are many reasons why we believe a new superintendent would better serve children in our district. It is critical that we change leadership in our district because much of the dysfunction in our district is directly attributable to the Superintendent and the majority of the Board. Put yourselves in our shoes for a moment. How can we serve children as Board members if we are denied access to critical information? How can we make critical budget decisions if the budget information that we are provided is incomplete or incorrect? How can we ignore the fact that employee morale is at an all time low? How can we stand by and watch the Superintendent maintain the status quo? Although board members are bound by restrictions on the confidentiality of certain matters, we believe that there are plenty of public reasons to replace the Superintendent.

As for the “now,” first, the district will be submitting a balanced budget on March 15, 2008. By this date we will have made the cuts necessary to balance the budget. Second, other district staff are in a good position to manage this budget crisis without the Superintendent’s help. Third, given the drastic budget situation, there is little the district can do in the short term to make fundamental improvements and because this Superintendent has not made the necessary fundamental improvements in over eight years on the job, there is no reason to believe that if we wait he will be willing or able to do so.

Fourth, many of the issues we face are tied to a failure to engage in strategic planning. We need to launch a full scale strategic planning process as soon as possible if we want to save this district. Mr. McHenry’s ability to lead is now so compromised that he cannot effectively lead such an effort and any attempt to engage in such a process with him as the leader will be a failure. He cannot energize our employees to buy in to such a process (particularly the teachers). By failing to engage in such a process over these many years he has demonstrated that he does not believe in such efforts. Strategic planning requires employee buy in and collaboration – the Superintendent does not collaborate well. Community involvement is also necessary for a successful planning process. Given the current lack of community support for Mr. McHenry, he cannot lead the community in a planning process. The sooner the Superintendent leaves, the sooner we can begin a real strategic planning process.

Fifth, it is a necessity that this district secure a parcel tax as soon as possible. The Superintendent has failed to engage in any systematic attempt to increase community support for additional revenue. The district polls the community every few years to test support for a parcel tax. It is not surprising that each time the district polls, the community is not in support – because the district has done nothing in the interim to inform or educate the community. The earliest possible time to seek a parcel tax is June 2009. We still have an opportunity to pursue a parcel tax at that time if we can replace the Superintendent soon.

With regard to the ongoing negotiations, first, negotiations are currently on hold until the state budget picture is clearer, which probably won’t be until the budget is adopted. Second, given the relationship between the Superintendent and some of our unions, it is likely that once the Superintendent leaves, the negotiations process will be more fruitful.

Finally, please do not assume that we suddenly decided to ask the Superintendent to leave. Over the past few years we have been pushing for fundamental change, pushing for strategic planning and pushing for real reform. Only after it became glaringly apparent that neither the Superintendent nor the majority of the board were willing to move forward on these issues did we take the drastic step of asking the Superintendent to leave.

Our district is desperate for change. Our students depend on us as Board members to stand up and do what’s right. It is never too early to do what is right.

This path that we have embarked upon is not the easy path, but it is the only path that will serve the students of the district. It would be far easier to continue to embrace the status quo, but the status quo will not begin to solve the challenges that we all face as a community. We were elected to serve the students and our community and we will stand up to our obligations, no matter how difficult that task becomes. We have no choice but to call things the way that we see them. Our district needs to change to better serve the community and that change requires that we find a new Superintendent who will help to rejuvenate and revitalize this district.

Gary Eberhart and Paul Strange