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Virginia Beach's School Board is poised Tuesday to interview finalists for an open seat on the board. Members plan to question the five candidates in secret, believing that will result in more meaningful discussions.
Private conversations may indeed be more candid, but they shut out the very people the candidates are vying to represent: the public.
Elections include forums and civic league meetings and give the public chances to hear what candidates stand for, but midterm vacancies allow scant opportunities for voters to compare alternatives.
Three times in the past six months, the Virginia Beach School Board has had vacancies and debated what process to use. An open one gives everyone a chance to hear from the hopefuls, to watch the back and forth with board members, to gauge candidates' ability to address issues succinctly and specifically.
The Virginia Beach City Council recently conducted interviews to replace Councilman Ron Villanueva, who was elected to the House of Delegates. The council talked with more than a dozen candidates in public, in front of TV cameras, then met in closed session. The interviews were at times awkward and repetitious, but they were a good step toward openness and transparency.
If School Board members disagreed with the City Council's format, they should figure out a way to make it better and more open, not close the doors on the people they represent.
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Typical....
The VBCPs SB is the epitomy of a dysfunctional organization. They do not respond to emails...at the direction of the Chair...who does not respond, either. They conduct most of their business at taped meetings which are broadcast later (and taping these meetings is only a recent development). At these meetings, in the Einstein Lab in the Adm Bldg, there are very few, if any, seats for the public because all seats are reserved for highly paid adminstrators. Often, the public is left to sit on the floor or outside the room when important issues are discussed.
The Chair's written Agenda includes workshops and the public meeting only applies to the "televised" portion of the meeting. The Chair has kicked people out of public meetings (where 3 or more are gathered) not because they are disruptive, but because of his narrow definition of "public".
Continued....
They conducted the recent Superintendent search in private and almost hired a man who was being investigated by a grand jury...then one of them wrote a "Letter to the Editor" defending their choice. (Of course, hiring this guy would have been a real embarrassment for the VBCPS and cost them hundreds of thousands of $$ to buy out his contract after he was later indicted). They automatically rejected any applicant who was deemed "employee friendly" including a couple of local outstanding Superintendent's.
The Chair has said on more than one occasion that he "is not an advocate for the schools." If that is truly how he feels, for him to do anything in public would be the exception rather than the rule.
"WHY" the other Board members allow him to operate in such an authoritarian manner is the real question. And with the recent "appointments," I suspect the Board will be become even more dysfunctional and feel they "owe" the Chair, not the people they represent.
public?
I look forward to learning when the Virginian-Pilot editorial board's candidate interviews will be public.
Or do the Pilot's standards for others not apply to themselves?
You know....
The Virginian Pilot is not a publically owned business....and you know that. A person can agree or disagree with how they do business...but they owe the taxpayer nothing.
they owe the taxpayer nothing
including consistency.
If Only....
If "consistency" was the measure of success...then, I have to admit, this country would be in a lot better shape than we are now.