NAACP asks Fayette County school board to halt superintendent search during COVID-19
NAACP members in Lexington on Thursday asked the Fayette school board to halt their search for a new superintendent during COVID-19 so that more people could participate.
“We do not have confidence that this process will include the voices of the community,” a statement from the group said.
School Board chairman Tyler Murphy indicated in a response that the Fayette County Board of Education is moving ahead but appreciates the interest being shown in the process of selecting the next superintendent by the NAACP and other community groups even before the search has begun.
He said as many voices as possible will be heard during the search.
School board members have said they want the new superintendent hired in June and on the job by July 1, 2021. Marlene Helm has been acting superintendent since Manny Caulk died in December after a brief illness that district officials have never identified. The current school board members are all white. Helm is Black as was Caulk.
At the same time that the board, with several novice members, is trying to hire a new superintendent, it is also trying to return students to in-person learning for the first time since March 2020.
The NAACP asked the board to postpone or extend the deadline to hire the next Superintendent until the 2022-2023 school year.
NAACP Education Chair Shambra Mulder said Thursday the NAACP is asking that the search be stopped in part because there is no public comment during the virtual school board meetings held during the pandemic.
“There’s no way we can really be part of this process during the pandemic,” she said.
The NAACP asked the board to conduct a “listening tour” across diverse communities in Fayette County before choosing the next superintendent.
They asked board members to contract with a local Black consultant to advise the Superintendent Search Committee.
The superintendent search process and final selection is an important equity issue for the Fayette County community, the statement said.
“All attempts to include as many voices as possible in developing the profile for the next superintendent must be exercised and handled with the utmost urgency,” she said.
The next superintendent needs to be someone with a proven record of successfully leading an urban school district and intentionally focusing on the equitable distribution of resources to high poverty schools, the statement said.
It said the next superintendent should ensure that the district meets equity goals. In addition, the new superintendent should have a proven record of holding principals accountable for hiring Black and Hispanic teachers who reflect the diversity of the city and schools, for closing the achievement gaps, and for lowering the number of exclusionary discipline practices and criminalization of racial minority students.
“We are more interested in a proven record of actions, as opposed to characteristics and personality for the next superintendent,” the statement said.
The group says candidates should also be passionate about and experienced in communicating openly and providing support to classroom staff.
Board members have had offers of support from other local advocacy organizations, business leaders and elected officials, said Murphy.
“Public engagement is a top priority for our board members and must be the centerpiece of this search in order to ensure we find the right candidate for our district,” Murphy said.
In 2015, more than 5,000 students, employees, families and community members participated in the superintendent search that led to the hiring of Caulk, and the board intends to garner even higher numbers this time, according to Murphy.
“We recognize that COVID-19 will require us to reimagine some of the ways we gather public input and feedback, but based on the active community participation in principal selections since the pandemic began, we have started initial discussions about multiple avenues for widespread stakeholder involvement,” Murphy said.
Under state law, the seating of a Superintendent Screening Committee must happen within 30 days of a vacancy. The members are:
Parent Representative: Thalethia Routt, who has two students in FCPS – one at Veterans Park Elementary and one at Henry Clay High. Routt is a member of the FCPS Equity Council who also serves as the Associate General Counsel at the University of Kentucky.
Certified Employee Representatives: Jennifer Bolander, who teaches special education at Henry Clay High School, and Jessica Hiler, Fayette County Education Association President
Classified Employee Representative: Kiyon Massey, Associate Director of Human Resources
Principal Representative: Matt Marsh, Sandersville Elementary School Principal
They will join school board member Tom Jones, nominated by Murphy.
The committee will review applications for the superintendent vacancy and make recommendations to the Fayette County Board of Education. Before they can begin that work, the board will consider hiring a search firm or executive recruiter to help conduct a nationwide search.
The district issued a “Request for Proposals” on January 12 and the window for submissions closed this week. In the proposal, the board specified they were looking for “an executive recruiter or firm to recruit a diverse field of candidates that mirrors the diversity of our student population” and included “a demonstrated record of presenting a diverse pool of highly qualified candidates” as part of the selection criteria.
Board members are reviewing proposals from seven firms and a work session will take place at 2:30 p.m. Monday to review the proposals, interview firms and determine next steps.
“Input from students, employees, families, and community members will be critical as we move ahead,” Murphy said. “The public will have a voice in the development of a candidate profile through surveys and focus groups, and will have the opportunity to participate in the interview process before the board makes a final decision.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 3:32 PM.