The man who was not chosen to be the superintendent of the Huntsville City Schools

Dr. Eric King photo Glen Baeske The Huntsville Times

Before I type another sentence I want to express my gratitude to Merts Center Monitor and Geek Palaver for being the Education Reporters we wish we had instead of the Education Reporters we have. 

 If it weren't for people who are not being paid to report on the school system and to inform the public, we  wouldn't know the Huntsville City School system is mired in a culture of cronyism, hypocrisy, and nepotism, especially in regard to the Pinnacle Policy, and the Digital Conversion debacle.

 Can you hear me now?

How did we get here? 

What do they want? 

IMHO, it all started when the inept black superintendent was replaced with a competent white one.  

Recap.  Casey Wardynski became OUR Superintendent after the buy out of Ann Roy Moore, and after being chosen as a finalist by the superintendent search firm hired by the school board.

The board voted 4-1 to hire BWP and Associates on a compressed timeline to find the new superintendent. The decision did not come without contention, however.Board members Laurie McCaulley, who voted against the motion, and Alta Morrison argued that the board could conduct the search itself. Fellow board members David Blair and Jennie Robinson disagreed with that idea

Dr. Eric King, a certified educator, and an experienced superintendent, was the first candidate quizzed to replace Anne Roy Moore.

King has served as superintendent of the Muncie system for about three years. His time overall as a superintendent has equaled 11 years, but his experience in education goes back much longer. He has also served as a director of pupil services, principal, dean of students, athletic director, teacher and director of parks and recreation.
His education includes bachelor's and master's degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, an administrative certification from Concordia University in River Forest, Ill., and a PhD from Loyola University of Chicago.
King is the highest-paid of the candidates, earning $206,000 as head of a system of 7,000 students, according to his application. He oversees 30 employees.

Dr. Eric King has a proven track record (emphasis mine)

Board Vice President Laurie McCaulley asked about his experience transforming under performing schools. By using a systemic process of change that promotes continuous school improvement, King said, his system has seen one of its lowest performing schools recognized last year for making the most improvement in the state.
Financial crises also were an important issue discussed during King's interview.
"I think that's an issue that many school systems across the country are faced with," King said.
The Muncie system has faced financial challenges for a number of years, due to declining enrollment. The system established a blue ribbon task force to identify a cross-section of the community and get them involved in increasing the schools' efficiencies.

Cutting personnel as part of the financial woes is challenging, King said. He said his staff looks at attrition, or who was retiring or resigning, eliminating positions where possible. He also looks at reducing slots in administrative positions.

So why wasn't Dr. Eric King, chosen as one of the three finalist?

Today's Must Read
Meet Dr. Casey Wardynski