RICHARDSON: New superintendent makes his first moves

The new Bibb County school Superintendent Curtis Jones has made his first substantial moves since taking the position last month. The school board approved two principals, Eclan David for Ballard-Hudson Middle School, and Dexter Martin for Southwest High School. Both educators come from the Griffin-Spalding County school system where Jones was the superintendent. There are some issues, however. Board member Tom Hudson voted against both educators and was joined by board members Ella Carter and Wanda West in voting against the Southwest nominee.

Here’s my take. David steps into a very difficult situation at Ballard-Hudson. The middle school will merge with Bloomfield Middle School in August, creating a clash of cultures and a clash of rival gangs. Jones can’t be blamed for this move. It was decided long before he arrived, but it’s his baby now. The combustibles are everywhere. The board was warned by the sheriff’s office and by teachers and administrators of the explosive possibilities. Those possibilities could be exacerbated by a principal who is unfamiliar with the terrain and the children. The situation could get ugly. Let’s pray it doesn’t.

At Southwest there is a dual problem, one created by the prior administration as it hurried to recommend a principal before the new superintendent arrived. The administration formed a committee and a unanimous choice was selected out of the daylong interview process. The person selected by the committee is not who the superintendent nominated for the position, much to the chagrin of many at the Southwest campus including community members who gave up a day of work to do the system’s bidding.

Hudson voted against Martin on that basis, saying, “I can’t support the recommendation (for Southwest) because of the process or lack of process. The decision excluded too many voices within the school system and drew on too much recommendation from outside the system.” West and Carter questioned Martin’s ability to move from an elementary school to a lead role at the high school level.

This is a case where Jones and Hudson are actually both right. The school system should not have wasted everyone’s time trying to get a new principal named at Southwest before the new superintendent arrived, nor should it have pulled Tanzy Kilcrease as principal there for her new position at the board office in the middle of the school year. She had the school on a roll, and the students at Southwest deserve better than a revolving door of principals they’ve seen over the past half-decade.

That said, the superintendent needs to have his own team. He will be judged by the board and this community on his effectiveness in raising test scores and his ability to improve school climate scores. We have 14 schools on the governor’s list of failing schools and our CCRPI (College and Career Ready Performance Index) scores are in the tank, too. And for that, he needs people around who can hit the ground running with his plans at the start of the 2015-16 school year.

Aside from David and Martin, he’s bringing in, from Griffin-Spalding County, Jamie Cassady, assistant superintendent of student affairs. Cassady is the former principal of A.Z. Kelsey Academy, which scored the highest ranking in the state’s climate scoring. And Keith Simmons will serve as his chief of staff -- he is the former principal at Griffin High School. It might be a good idea for anyone visiting the Griffin area from Bibb to keep it on the down low. Jones has done a pretty good job of raiding his former school system, and they might hold a grudge.

And another thought. Soon, the system will come knocking, asking voters to approve the continuation of an extra penny sales tax. There is a survey on the Bibb County schools website asking for opinions on certain projects that the next E-SPLOST would pay for. I would ask for another requirement. The county and the Macon Housing Authority have minority participation plans in writing for major projects. The school system, an entity that spends more money than the county and the Housing Authority combined, does not. That needs to change before I can vote for the next E-SPLOST.

Charles E. Richardson is The Telegraph’s editorial page editor. He can be reached at 478-744-4342 or via email at crichardson@macon.com. Tweet @crichard1020.

This story was originally published May 10, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "RICHARDSON: New superintendent makes his first moves."