The Springfield school district is moving forward with new leadership on board. A new interim superintendent was hired unanimously by the school board, and a new board member was appointed unanimously to fill a vacancy.

A New Direction

The recent turnovers on the board may be misunderstood by some as board dysfunction with members disagreeing and clearly uncomfortable with each other. However, the real reason for board disagreement is due to two competing visions: some former board members believed all was mostly well, and they supported the previous administration continuing in their same direction. But other board members disagreed and held a different opinion.

They believed the district was heading in the wrong direction, that the public wanted change, and that it was their duty to direct the superintendent to seek new answers. Parents, teachers, classified staff, and some students packed the board meetings demanding changes.

The elected school board has governance authority, setting goals and being accountable to the public for the results. The board hires a superintendent to run the operations of the schools. But if those operations are not succeeding, the public asks their board to seek improvements.

The district leadership has generated an unprecedented slew of threatened lawsuits against board members, who are merely seeking greater transparency and information in order to fulfill their responsibilities as elected officials.

This upcoming school year will be the time for the board, the superintendent, and the senior administration to get in sync and start functioning at a high level to make Springfield Public Schools the gold standard for a new direction in local public education.

Original reporting: Homepage – Lookout Eugene-Springfield — read the source article.