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Gary Highsmith.
(Opinion) The following article was written by one of the three finalists for the position of New Haven superintendent of schools.
The New Haven Board of Education is about to hire a superintendent of schools, a decision that will directly impact the lives of more than 20,000 students. The wrong decision could have long lasting negative consequences for the students, staff, parents and community that could take years to undo.
I wanted to be Superintendent of New Haven Public Schools because I care deeply about the future of each and every student. As a resident and taxpayer in New Haven, and more importantly, as a parent of a New Haven Public School graduate and the parent of a current sophomore in the school system, I have a vested interest in who is chosen to lead the school system.
Although the hiring process has been challenging, the possibility of being able to serve the children and parents of this city as its superintendent of schools made navigating the process all worth it. If I had to go through it all again, I would not hesitate to do so in order to have an opportunity to be superintendent in my hometown.
The media reported that based on the board’s “straw vote” after the second round of interviews last week, there was 4 – 3 majority in favor of Dr. Carol Birks to serve as the superintendent of New Haven Public Schools. Clearly, the will of the students and broader community was ignored.
It is clear to me I do not have sufficient support on the Board of Education to get the votes necessary to become New Haven’s next superintendent. However, I am pleased to know the students and community overwhelmingly preferred me; and for that, I will always feel inspired and be eternally grateful.
While I will not be superintendent of schools in New Haven, as a parent, I am still very much interested in who is chosen. That is why I am asking the board not to choose Dr. Birks. Since I have no path to a majority of the board votes, I implore one of the four board members who supported Dr. Birks to change his or her vote to Dr. Pamela Brown, who unlike Dr. Birks, is eminently qualified to lead this district.
By hiring Dr. Birks, the board will choose to empower charter school advocates, enrich education privateers, and embolden some of the worst elements of the community who see Dr. Birks’ tenure as an opportunity to get their hands on a more than 400 million dollar budget.
I would like to make it known that I have been contacted by several so-called powerbrokers in New Haven and offered an assistant superintendent’s position in exchange for my support of either candidate. Let me be clear: I am not interested in such a position in New Haven, nor am I willing to play politics with the lives of students by putting my professional advancement before the quality of their education. I am not built that way, and will not entertain the notion of compromising the educational future of students for any reason, especially to have a title before my name.
Finally, despite the challenges presented by this hiring process, the opportunity to speak to a lecture hall full of high school students from across the city, and to immediately connect with them in the short time allowed, was the absolute highlight of this process. It is my hope that the adults on the Board will put the needs of the students first to ensure the students get a superintendent that is qualified for the position. Given the result of the straw vote, which effectively eliminated me as a candidate, there is only one clear choice — Dr. Brown should be named superintendent of New Haven Public Schools.
Wow. This process has more twists and turns than Scandal.
Pretty interesting that Highsmith states that BOTH candidates offered him an assistant position, but still clearly supported Brown.
Very interested to see how the season finale goes.