| First of all my congratulations and best wishes to Jahn Hart. I personally have spoken in favor of Jahn being our Superintendent of Schools and still believe that she will do an exemplary job. This is not an attack on her performance; it is a criticism of policy and process enacted by the present School Committee. Since a school committee is the policy making body for the town of Longmeadow, why has that committee appointed Jahn Hart, Superintendent of Schools, at the School Committee meeting on Sept. 25. So that we are all on the same page, she assumed the duties of Interim Super, July 1 after Scott AndersEn left. In less than three months, her position has changed. Good for her; but, in all honesty, wouldn't the prudent Committee decision be to just postpone the search for a superintendent because Ms. Hart is doing an excellent job so far and if she continues to do so, she will be appointed superintendent after her first anniversary or second? Let her prove herself. Why the rush? Let Ms. Hart and her support staff perform an exemplary, proper fiduciary budget cycle (which is more towards the end of February/March), then appoint her superintendent. Another issue with this sort of policy: advertise for an Interim Superintendent knowing full well that the number of applicants and the quality of applicants decreases with the fact that it is a temporary job. And then less than three months into the interim cycle, make the Interim Superintendent Superintendent. That sort of maneuver is suspect at best. Is that a way of insuring the success of a favored candidate? Was this the overall plan to begin with? We can only hope that every qualified potential candidate who had the desire to be permanent Superintendent of Schools in Longmeadow doesn't cry "foul" and start litigation. It is certainly odd that the School Committee does this at a meeting that is not televised; after all, wouldn't one think that the best public relations format would be to appoint and discuss the highest salaried position in the town of Longmeadow when Longmeadow Public Television would be able to televise this event.or even, for that matter, that local television stations would cover the event? Why the rush to judgment? Diane B. Nadeau Longmeadow |
