Despite some of the members’ best efforts, the names of all finalists for the Dougherty County School Superintendent post being vacanted by Dr. Sally Whatley will be released as a result of reaching an agreement with local media outlets. The board agrees to release the names of three finalists, of a possible six.
Now, was that so hard?
Will it change anything on who they hire? Probably not. But Dr. Joshua Murfree, the board’s choice, will have a tainted reign as superintendent. No matter what happens, there will always be a nagging doubt that he got the job due to qualifications. There will always be that part of one’s mind that wonders how much of his hiring was what he knew, and how much was who he knew.
Frankly, it’s not fair to anyone.
However, the names will be released. Several of the names bandied about seem to be very qualified, too qualified to be discounted out of hand like they were. If these names are accurate, then the school board has some more explaining to do in my opinion. After all, why on Earth wouldn’t you want someone who ran the Little Rock school system? Why aren’t any of the candidates.
And, here’s the thing, all the identified candidates are black. That’s right boys and girls, no racial issues involved. It’s not about keeping a black man out of the superindendent’s office, it’s making sure a qualified candidate gets the job. Since all the mentioned finalists are black themselves, then I don’t see the problem.
Of course, there are some that want to make the issue about race, and then accuse others of doing just that. The Herald bring this up:
The Rev. Eddie Bankston and Bishop John Burr, who have frequently been voices of support for the board’s decision to select Murfree as the only finalist for superintendent, said that the media had “denigrated” the school system.
Frequently referring to the news organization as the “ride-by media,” a play on a phrase popularized by radio talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, Burr urged the board to stand its ground and not “allow our ride-by media to run the School Board.”
“We need to stand together and not make this a racial issue as the ride-by media has done,” Burr said.
And yet, all the candidates are black, as mentioned above. Personally, I want qualified. I don’t care if they’re black, white, or purple, so long as they’re qualified. Several of the names mentioned seem so, though I’d need to see more information to know for sure. Being a former superindendent is all fine and good, but if he sucked at the job, we don’t need to hire him. Being an assistant superindendent is the same kind of thing.
After all is said and done, Dr. Murfree may well be the best choice. I’ll be among the first to conceed that. But the issue isn’t really who the school board chose, but how they went about it. Now, they can release the names, let the discussion happen, and then vote for who is best for the job while keeping in mind that the people of Albany know who’s up for the job.
Once they get that out of the way, they can simply focus on who changed answers on the CRCT and why.
