Nine days ago, I posted the Curiously Quiet SD County Board of Ed Vacancy. Why, I asked — with a January 27 deadline for applications looming and a big, beautiful website with all kinds of other news on it (bought with our public dollars) — the vacancy and the appointment process had not been posted for the public to easily see?
I also blasted the post to a pretty significant email list, including politicos, media types and the trustees at the Board of Education. Lots of response. No changes to the site, however.
It would seem that — Republican or Democrat — any board member wanting to look good in the eyes of the public and the media would be calling for complete and easy access to information as part of this process. Perhaps I need a question mark at the end of the last sentence.
At least now I know I’m not the only one doing the questioning. Marsha Sutton, the education writer for Voice of San Diego, has now picked up the mantle. In yesterday’s "The Mysterious People on the County Board of Education," she writes:
"The board has taken a bit of criticism for not better publicizing the open seat, but (Board Member Susan) Hartley said they have only 45 days to appoint a replacement, leaving very little time to get the word out.
"Yes, but … why, as of this writing, is news of the open seat not included on the home page of the San Diego County Office of Education’s Web site? As others have pointed out, a number of in-the-news items are featured on the home page, but not this important announcement.
"Making it easy for prospective candidates to find out about the vacancy and obtain information on how to apply is in the best interests of SDCOE, if the board is serious about wanting a large, diverse pool of applicants."
Indeed. By the way, that "bit of criticism" she references, as well as those pesky "others" that are pointing out the same thing…well, that would be the FlashReport as a start.
As for Trustee Hartley’s comment that 45 days is not adequate time to get the word out, the County Office of Education does have a press staff and…if I haven’t yet beat this horse enough…a big, beautiful website.
Perhaps any board member or administrator at the Board of Ed would like to let FR know why the website doesn’t include the info, or even a nice press release about Ernie Dronenburg’s resignation. (Another question mark went there, I guess.) You may email me here.
In the meantime, thanks to one of the potential applicants who emailed them to me, and in the spirit of full disclosure, the instructions and forms are now posted right here on FR (see below), if not where it makes better sense they should be. You still are encouraged to call the County Office at (858) 292-3500, for additional information and instructions.
Application Materials: