Think back to the time Dana Bedden was hired by the Richmond County Bard of Education, away from his last post. You will realize that he accepted the job because he perceived the move as upward mobility.
A ladder stepper such as Dr. Bedden is only concerned with one thing when making career choices, and that is monetary gain. His current salary of $3,500 per week is apparently not enough to keep him dedicated, and it's understandable based on his set of principles when he is considering a potential offer of $4,800 per week.
You may feel he is holding you hostage in that he realizes how difficult it is to find a superintendent with his particular set of qualifications, and in many ways he is accurate. It appears there is a shortage of qualified people who are job-hoppers like Dr. Bedden, and the result is that the bidding process favors the highest bidder.
I find it unforgivable, however, that at a time when teachers and staff members are being furloughed, cut back, denied raises and potentially losing benefits that their superintendent would say that if you want to keep him, he will require a 38-percent salary increase.
If the school board matches the number and retains Dr. Bedden, you can be assured loyalty from the current staff at all levels will be compromised. So will school officials fall for this ploy? Think back to the frustrations of trying to find a qualified fire chief. The decision was made to hire from within, and the results appear to be working.
There are many qualified people employed by the school system who would be thrilled to accept the responsibility of superintendent, and probably for less than Dr. Bedden's salary.
Wish him well, close the book on him and send him packing. You will be quite surprised at how soon you can replace him with someone from within who will be just as capable or more capable than Dr. Bedden.
Ernie McFerrin
North Augusta, S.C.
You think those within would know where the probems are would be the best for the job. Paying big salaries doesn't mean great results. Those within the system know who the good folks are. Companies that are making a profit promote within every day so I don't see a difference in a school system. Public education is not the best approach to educate children so why keep placing good money into an inferior approach. Parents determine how well students do and no amount of money fixes that in a government school system. Eliminate public schools and the free enterprise system would fill the gap and do a better job as it does in everything else.
Smart letter. Government today at every level subs out responsibility. Posturing "professional" types eagerly accommodate this lucrative arrangement. It's a win-win for everybody except the citizens who subsidize the charade. Deadlock begins at home. Washington is merely its biggest theme park. Throwing the bums out is not the answer, either. Other bums are salivating in the wings. The contract should be between the voters and the office, not between the voters and the royal attendants who come WITH the office. My ancestors put up everything they had in order to ESCAPE such "government." This nonsense started in the America of the late 1950's. Today it is a plague upon the land. Dr. Bedden is not to blame--anymore than an orchid in a hothouse. Mr. McFerrin points out what should be obvious. We don't elect a permanent search committee. We elect a board of education. Responsible men and women should not be intimidated, baffled or dazzled. They should simply be responsible and act responsibly.
How can you accuse him of being a "job hopper" when he was not offered a timely formal contract to stay?
" Parents determine how well students do and no amount of money fixes that in a government school system"....that has to be the smartest thing written in the Chronicle in weeks...No matter who is in the top seat it all comes back to the parents.
I think they should give the job to Fred Russell, after all he's not doing anything right now. And make Deke his secretary.
Crackerjack, you are absolutely correct that Fred (What, me worry?) Russell is not doing anything right now. But he told the media that he has been “busy” lately. Let's hope they see to it that he becomes busy looking for another job.
But, back to the topic. I think Mr. McFerrin has written a thoughtful letter and I hope the Board of Education trustees take it to heart. I, for one, would like to see a new superintendent.
There are not qualified people in the current system ready to take over the position. That is why the system went searching outside the corrupt institution in the first place. The current superintendent has made some much needed changes, and more are needed. The current system is still intrenched, just as the local government, in fraud, incompetence, illegal activities, and transactions and lawmaking that only further individual advancement. I say, clean house.
It is not that the RCBOE could not find a qualified administrator for less money, it is that they could not find a black qualified administrator for less money. They are in short supply and high demand and can command high salaries because primarily black school districts want black administrators. If our racially motivated school board would consider the full spectrum of qualified administrators they could certainly find plenty of qualified applicants for less than $3500 a week. This issue is not about paying for competency, it is about paying for the color of competency. Just add this to the cost of the pain of living in RC along with our paralyzed commission, the payoffs that must be included in everything that gets done, and the tax money wasted on holdback contracts. I, personally, have not seen the kind of improvements in our school system that would warrant the salary that Bedden is currently getting much less the salary that they are talking about offering him. Buying a gold hood ornament for a Hyundai does not make it a Cadillac. It just makes the Hyundai look ridiculous.
As I said before, Tell him you hate to see him go, wish him well, say good things about him if asked, and hold the door open for him on the way out. One would be surprised how good a little reverse psychology could work?
Dichotomy. Can you name any majority white school districts? Who have a black or hispanic superintendent. Because I can't really think of any. I can think of a few black or hispanic majority school districts. Who have a white superintendent.
It does not matter, Countyman, whether you can "think of any" or not. What you can "think of" has no bearing on the fact that Dana Bedden is shaking down the Richmond County BOE to get a whopping pay raise in the midst of lower revenues and a nationwide recession and deflation. It is not right to give him a raise at this time.
Dichotomy pretty much has it right in my view. I spoke with a high school teacher who expressed concern about looking 'in system' for a replacement. He feels there is to much 'good ole boy' cronyism within the Richmond County sytem to get an effective superintendent. I do believe that if we could overcome the 'racial' element in deciding who will best lead, we can find many a good man/women to head up and continue the success Dr. Bedden had demonstrated.
countyman, you missed my point. There may or may not be a primarily white district out there with a black administrator. I don't know. But I do know there are lots of qualified administrators in the job market and it is not worth paying extortionist salary rates just to keep Bedden because he is a competent black administrator. There are plenty of qualified people who could take this job for a salary more commensurate with the size of the school system if the board would change their unspoken policy of only hiring black superintendents. Bedden's performance has been, at best, squarely in the "acceptable" range and certainly does not warrant a bonus or a huge pay raise just to keep him here. The website for the American Association of School Administrators reports the the average mean salary of a superindent in the southeast during the 2007-2008 school year was $123,598. We are already WAY above that and the performance of our school system is WAY below average. Believe me, they could find someone better for less money. I wish we would make the guy up in RI an offer who just notified his entire teaching staff and all of the administrators that they are all fired at the end of the school year and will have to re-compete for their jobs based on performace and graduation rates.
DICHOTOMY, I'm with you on your 12:37 PM post. But, as an aside, that "guy" in RI that fired the entire staff was actually a "lady." More power to her! That is a very interesting situation and one worth paying very close attention to as the drama plays out over the next few weeks/months. If I understand the rationale used for taking this action it could mean that a crack has been discovered in the dike we call "the teachers union." Hopefully, if so, the little Dutch boy won't be able to plug the hole before the dam is successfully and irrevocably compromised for some time to come. GGpap
Petey his contract is up the end of July. I would think he was offered a contract well in advabce of that time which was 6 months.
For all. I really don't know what our infatuation is with Bedded. I am sure he is a nice gut and like the rest of us, his focus is his family. What I don't get is the rhetoric about his accomplishments. The score for Richmond county as a whole in the area of AYP if "not meeting the goals" per the GA DOE web site. Now if hw has been here 3 years with an open checkbook and a board that gave him a million dollar staff, what has he accomplished? I know some schools have gone from 69% to 71% in ceratin subjects, but is that our expectations? I believe we need a new person who fits the policy stated in the policy book and that is someone with 6 years of proven financial experience and 6 years as a clsassroom teacher. In other words we don't need an education professional, we need someone with an MBA in finance. And I really don't care what his or her color is. In fact what is our constant desire to have a man in charge? I am sure there are some highly qualified women out there. Have we ever tried one?
A competent superintendent isn't that important. Look how long Larke lasted. He was horrible and the majority community liked him a lot. Many of the current posters are a result. It would make much more sense to end the government schools and then a superintendent wouldn't be necessary.
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