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Independence, MO —
The Independence Board of Education should seriously consider a re-do of its recent policy change, forcing administrators to move to the district within two years.
Are district leaders willing to risk the turmoil of a large-scale turnover of top staff?
The policy, as it stands, will force about 60 people to move by Feb. 1, 2015.
That raises a lot of issues:
- With housing values still depressed over the last half-decade, how many administrators will be willing to sell at a loss – perhaps a substantial loss – to keep their jobs? The administration has made it clear that waivers in such a situation are not in the cards.
- How many administrators who themselves have children in school will be willing to endure the family and educational disruptions of moving their kids? And how fair is that anyway?
- Why narrow the job pool to those willing to move here?
- How does this improve the work done in any classroom? That should be the school district’s main focus. Sure, it would be great if every paycheck and every last tax dollar expended came right back to the community, but metro areas of any size just don’t work that way. How many couples live in Independence, with his job in Olathe and hers in Liberty? That’s just how it goes. What is the point – what is the educational purpose – of putting up these walls?
If the aim is to have administrators be more active in the community, then just give them the time and encouragement to be more active in the community. There are any number of people actively leading in this community who live a couple of ZIP Codes away. That’s true of every city of any size in the metro area. This policy a blunt tool, and it’s overkill.
The adoption of this policy smacks of haste. The community deserves a fuller discussion, with more reasonable options on the table. At the very least, common sense suggests current administrators might be grandfathered in. The potential turnover caused by this policy is far more worrisome than any theoretical gains.
The Independence Board of Education should seriously consider a re-do of its recent policy change, forcing administrators to move to the district within two years.
Are district leaders willing to risk the turmoil of a large-scale turnover of top staff?
The policy, as it stands, will force about 60 people to move by Feb. 1, 2015.
That raises a lot of issues:
- With housing values still depressed over the last half-decade, how many administrators will be willing to sell at a loss – perhaps a substantial loss – to keep their jobs? The administration has made it clear that waivers in such a situation are not in the cards.
- How many administrators who themselves have children in school will be willing to endure the family and educational disruptions of moving their kids? And how fair is that anyway?
- Why narrow the job pool to those willing to move here?
- How does this improve the work done in any classroom? That should be the school district’s main focus. Sure, it would be great if every paycheck and every last tax dollar expended came right back to the community, but metro areas of any size just don’t work that way. How many couples live in Independence, with his job in Olathe and hers in Liberty? That’s just how it goes. What is the point – what is the educational purpose – of putting up these walls?
If the aim is to have administrators be more active in the community, then just give them the time and encouragement to be more active in the community. There are any number of people actively leading in this community who live a couple of ZIP Codes away. That’s true of every city of any size in the metro area. This policy a blunt tool, and it’s overkill.
The adoption of this policy smacks of haste. The community deserves a fuller discussion, with more reasonable options on the table. At the very least, common sense suggests current administrators might be grandfathered in. The potential turnover caused by this policy is far more worrisome than any theoretical gains.
