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Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2007 > August > 31 > Entry
Mobile passes on Percy Mack
After a three-hour meeting, the Mobile, Ala., school board ultimately did not pick Dayton Superintendent Percy Mack as a finalist, even though the Mobile Press-Register called him the “favored” candidate this morning.
Instead, the finalists are Cindy Elsberry, superintendent of a small Alabama school district and the only home state candidate, and Roy Nichols, a retired superintendent and college professor who led Norfolk, Va., schools and two districts in Georgia.
Elsberry was considered Mack’s primary competition from the start but Nichols is a big surprise. He was the last semi-finalist picked to be interviewed and has told the board he would only come if they agree to boundries to protect against micro-managing.
The board voted on each candidate, and the result was quite divided. Elsberry and Nichols won with 3-2 votes. Mack’s result was two votes in favor, three against.
So it looks like Mack will be staying put, at least for now.
UPDATE: The Press-Register’s breaking news blog points out that the vote broke down along racial lines, with the two black board members pushing for Mack and the three white board members opting for white candidates as finalists. At the meeting’s end, one angry black board member said, “I thought we’d come further than this.”
Permalink | Comments (18) | Categories: Dayton Public Schools
Comments
By 2hot4school
September 3, 2007 7:57 PM | Link to this
Anybody heard about the heat for this week ?? I heard it will be in the mid-nineties. So much learning has been lost already due to the temperatures in the classrooms. My bet is that scores (so important, right?) will be in the toilet for this school year. There are only so many years that we can go on shaving test scores off by closing buildings to keep us out of Academic Emergency. We can’t close them all ! It doesn’t take a genius to figure out this strategy. I’m sure Dr. Mack knows what it is looking like for next year at DPS. Probably a good time to bail for him.By Laura
September 3, 2007 7:01 PM | Link to this
Happy Homeschooler, I thought I made it clear, but apparently not, I think there was racism on both sides. Clearly, when there are 2 black board members and 3 white and the vote comes down to 2 for and 3 against- it is racism. I do think some superintendents have more opportunity to implement their own ideas than Dr. Mack does. It is the boards job to oversee- not micromanage.By dayton driver
September 3, 2007 10:01 AM | Link to this
We can argue all day about Percy Mack, but keep this in mind: In my time at the transportation department taking little kids to school, THE ONLY time I have ever see Mack at the Transportation compound is on the first day of school when the television cameras are there. The rest of the year he’s nowhere to be found. Would it be acceptable for a leader of any company to visit a large part of their organization only once a year - and that one time is when the television cameras are there?By Happy Homeschooler
September 3, 2007 9:16 AM | Link to this
Since the issue of race has been brought up, isn’t it just as likely that the black board members were also voting based on race? Doesn’t that ever happen? Or does racism only work one way? Could it be that he simply was not the best person for the job? Maybe after looking at the condition that DPS is in, those board memners realized they wanted better for the district than Dr. Mack.By Will
September 3, 2007 9:13 AM | Link to this
A number of people have alluded to the idea that Dr. Mack, or any superintendent would be more effective if the board members put aside their personal agendas and just let the person lead. This is unrealistic. That is not what school boards do. Although the school in Mobile may have implied this, they will not stay out of the way. I do not think Mack is a good superintendent, but that withstanding, his effectiveness is always tempered by the school boards desires.By School Supporter
September 3, 2007 8:05 AM | Link to this
Given four seats and seven candidates in the next board election, what needs to change? What should the DDN editorial board look for when making endorsements? What have Dayton’s high school graduates learned in civics about how to evaluate the candidates? Mobile chose Nichols over Mack, and commenters here indicate that Dayton’s board would not want Nichols and wouldn’t allow him to do his job even if he was willing to come here. Who among the current board candidates are willing “to take it upon themselves to learn the opposite side of the equation from their comfort zone … [even though it] is a lot of ask of board members?” See Laura’s Aug 24 comment: http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/education/entries/2007/08/23/wow13running.html#comment-1503661 The board employs and supervises the superintendent. How does Dr. Mack’s job description differ from the superintendents in Mobile or Fort Recovery? Mobile apparently had to be told by a job candidate what the superintendent needs to be doing; who in Dayton has listened?By Laura
September 2, 2007 8:13 PM | Link to this
RE: The race card: I don’t think there should be any question about whether race was an issue. It clearly was when the vote was drawn along racial lines. What other explanation could there possibly be?? Another DPS teacher, you said it very well. There is constant criticism of Dr. Mack but I don’t think anyone on here has any better ideas. I said once before, does anyone know of an urban district, in similar conditions, who has hired a superintendent who could create miracles and deliver a district that could compete with suburban schools? I don’t think there is such a person. I have taught for nearly 30 years in DPS and have never had a superintendent who visited my classroom as often as Dr. Mack has. I have seldom met one who gave me the feeling he was as sincere and concerned about the teachers and students as Dr. Mack. Instead of getting rid of Dr. Mack, we need to elect a school board who will support the superintendent and let the superintendent, whoever it is, implement some effective changes.By Jim
September 2, 2007 7:38 PM | Link to this
“…those who don�t know you, those who don�t live in Dayton, those who don�t teach in Dayton, and all others who seem to feel they have the magic bullet to fix the DPS districts� problems.” Does that include those of us paying from county resources to subsidize the city schools, and not just the city of Dayton itself since they don’t operate well. Just as the county commissioners tried to justify redirection countywide funds for psychologist, counselors, attendances officers that should have been funded by Dayton City Schools, the city schools lack of expertise and the city itself need to be subsidized. But I don’t recall them sharing all the tax monies when they had the manufacturing and they have all the big buildings for tax base downtown and all the income from the employees that they collect for the city. Maybe the city should be donating to the schools for counselors, psychologists, and truant officers from all those earnings tax monies.By Mary
September 2, 2007 5:17 PM | Link to this
Oldprof, I do not see why you think it is okay to constantly assume the race card -maybe it was, or maybe it was not. Race is not the most important parameter by which a candidate should be judged. In that regard, the black members could be just as guilty, or moreso, as the white members of the board. Should he have been selected simply because he was black? If you know how/why the other finalists are inferior to him, please let us know, but I don’t think you do. Maybe the white board members were from the band boosters and the black board members were from the football and basketball boosters. Sometimes I think that is why superintendents are picked, but I hope not.By Oldprof
September 2, 2007 2:11 PM | Link to this
Lots of analysis, including Ron’s comments that it wasn’t an issue of race but yet it was. Is anyone humble enough to think that the Mobile board voted based on motives that none of us are fully capable of analyzing? That’s my position…By Another DPS Teacher
September 2, 2007 8:19 AM | Link to this
For those who are just blogging and are not affliated with Dayton or its school district, Laura’s comments are on target. It would be wonderful to see what Dr. Mack would be able to accomplish if he had a school board of folks whose personal agendas were first and foremost the DPS students and teachers. It would be wonderful to see what Dr. Mack would be do if he had the full support of the Dayton community and the media. However, as one blogger stated a while ago, if there is anyone posting who feels they could do a better job at running the DPS district, I too encourage you to get your degrees and licensure and go for it. And then, let’s see how well you enjoy being criticized, ridiculed, belittled, and berated by those who don’t know you, those who don’t live in Dayton, those who don’t teach in Dayton, and all others who seem to feel they have the magic bullet to fix the DPS districts’ problems.By Laura
September 1, 2007 10:56 PM | Link to this
The statements by the finalist Dr. Nichols are inspiring and ambitious. Doing anything with that information would mean that the board completely backed the superintendent and allowed him or her to do their job without unnecessary interference. I don’t believe Dr. Mack (and yes, he has earned the right to be called Dr.) has that option.By School Supporter
September 1, 2007 10:22 AM | Link to this
Mobile finalist Roy Nichols said that within six months of hire he would know what works, what doesn’t work, and have a plan to address problems based on feedback from all employees. At 25 minutes into the interview he spoke to 360 degree feedback: “There should be an annual survey where every employee is asked, do they feel supported by their supervisor? do they feel safe at work? Are they getting the materials they need to do their job adequately? Do they have the proper training? Every employee needs to hear that. And 360 means complete circle. That means that people ought to file information on me too. About how they feel about me. And the public ought to fill out surveys on how they feel about you [the board]. [Laughter] Three-Sixty means everybody gets feedback on how they are doing their job and suggestions for … you know …” The interview URL (from Scott’s post) is: http://blog.al.com/pr/2007/08/superintendent_interviews.html It would be interesting to evaluate the candidates against the NEA’s asserted “compelling governmental interest in educating all of our children to function effectively in a multiracial, democratic society and realize their full intellectual and academic potential.” Perhaps the NEA has some superintendent evaluation rubrics they could make available to their peers (such as LULAC and NAACP) at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.By Jim
September 1, 2007 8:47 AM | Link to this
�I thought we�d come further than this.� That is what one black board member said? Apparently she hasn’t come father than this. She’s still looking at skin color. That’s a Dayton problem too.By Laura
September 1, 2007 7:44 AM | Link to this
Ron: I disagree. I think it is clearly an issue of race. The issue that was brought up of the last failed levy shows what they were looking for in a superintendent- someone who could bring in money.By Mary
September 1, 2007 12:07 AM | Link to this
It would be interesting to know more about the board members and their “agendas” and concerns other than their race. It might just appear to be a “racial” issue, sort of like the debate we had about Dayton’s recent levy failure. There might be a correlation to race based on differing perspectives, concerns and background without race really being the cause or the motivation of the board vote.By Howard
August 31, 2007 10:35 PM | Link to this
It’s to bad they did not take Mr.Mack, I will not call him a Doctor he does not deserve that title. It is unfortunate that he is left here in Dayton to ruin many more generations of Dayton Children.By ron
August 31, 2007 8:42 PM | Link to this
I don’t think this is an issue of race it is an issue of cometence that which Mr mack doesn’t possess. The shame of it all is two fold. First it means Mr Mack will continue his job here and secondly the race card in Alabama is alive and well. What ever happend to the days when the really qualified person was was awarded the job as opposed to affirmative action and skin color that persist today.