It’s difficult to argue with the logic of Elba School Board member Doris Matthews, who said that hiring a consultant to assist with a search for a new superintendent might improve the board’s credibility with the public.
After its last superintendent debacle, the board could use some help regaining the public trust. Its episode with its former superintendent, Elba native Terry Spicer, was doomed from the time if offered him the job in August 2009. The board had several candidates with more appropriate credentials, but opted for Spicer, then a state lawmaker whose job in the two-year college system was in jeopardy because of a prohibition on “double-dipping” in the legislature. Spicer had neither a valid teaching certificate nor the mandatory certification for education administration or supervision, but the board voted to hire him anyway.
That fell apart in the fall of 2011 when Spicer pleaded guilty in federal court to corruption charges related to his accepting bribes. His guilty plea made him ineligible to serve as superintendent, and he resigned.
The school board, however, created a new position and, despite his admission of public corruption, simply moved him into a job he was not prohibited from holding.
Public outrage was swift and loud; a week later, the board terminated Spicer.
Recently the board decided to get some training on selecting a superintendent, but voted against hiring a consultant. That money could be better spent, board chairman Aubrey Williams said.
Perhaps. With some training and the painful lesson learned from its last superintendent hire, the board may well judge its new candidates by their credentials rather than their proximity and connections.
But if putting the task in the hands of an outsider would improve the credibility of the Elba School Board, doing so would be a bargain at twice the price.
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