The five members who now control the county school board rarely miss an opportunity to disappoint. Their utterly arrogant vote Tuesday night to override standing board policy governing the selection of a new superintendent keeps their recent string of disappointments intact.
The policy they effectively ditched required a number of specific steps and strong public participation in choosing a successor to ousted Superintendent Jim Scales. For example:
* It directs the board to develop a job description, timeline and process for accepting and reviewing applications, and it spells out selection procedures.
* It says those procedures “shall include” an invitation to the community to participate in the selection of candidates by “suggesting selection criteria, participating in sessions with, and asking questions of, the candidates, and by attending board interviews with the candidates.”
* It says resumes of candidates interviewed by the board “shall be available in the central office for public inspection.”