Consultant fee too high

Date: 5/31/2011

Will someone please explain to me, as a retired High School of Commerce teacher, why it is necessary to hire a consultant at $800,000, to figure out how to run this school?

How can it be possible that Central High School is recognized as one of the top schools in the whole country and no one in Springfield, including the current Superintendent of Schools, can figure out what to do with Commerce?

Why not ask a panel of former teachers, who would have no agenda nor financial gain, what they think should be done to help make Commerce a well-functioning school?

My experiences, as a junior officer in the U.S. Navy for four years, having taught and coached in three different school systems over a 30 year span, and having worked in the private sector, have led me to believe one thing about effectively functioning units. What I have learned is this; whether it is the commanding officer of a ship, the principal of a school building, or the manager of a business location, how well the ship, the school, or the business functions is the result of the actions and attitudes of these individuals. $800,000 for a consultant? Sounds pretty suspect to me!

Don Campbell

Longmeadow