Schools just play musical chairs with incompetence

Here’s one example.

This week, Jackson County School System administrators made a recommendation to remove embattled principal Debra Morris from her position at Kings Bridge Middle School and make her the system’s food services director.

From one viewpoint, that’s a good thing. KBMS has been the worst middle school in the county under Morris’ leadership.

After she sent out an illiterate letter to students last summer, school leaders had an opportunity to make a change, but only gave her a slap on the wrist.

But in January, her 8th Graders were among the worst in the state on the 8th Grade Writing Test. Last week, school officials received the school’s recent CRCT results that reportedly continued to show weakness at KBMS.

This week, the Jackson County Board of Education discussed, among other administrative recommendations, moving Morris out of the school and into the open food services position. The BOE took no action, however on any of the administration’s personnel proposals.

That leaves a lot of people hanging.

While moving Morris out as principal would be a good thing, why in the world would the system promote her to an administrative position for which she has no apparent qualifications?

And what about her pay? As principal, she has been making over $102,000 per year. The food services director’s position currently pays around $90,000. If the move is approved, will Morris get to keep her higher pay?

Both salaries are, of course, outrageous. Barrow County schools food services administrator made $78,000 in 2010 and it’s a larger school system.

This is how too many public schools work in this nation. Incompetent teachers and administrators don’t get fired, they get a new job. They seldom get paid any less, always more.

And having a failed principal with a PhD. as food coordinator begs the question: What are JCSS administrators thinking?

Well, they aren’t thinking. JCSS administrators have long been one big happy family where they take care of their own.

Many readers probably noticed that in the last round of school system layoffs, not a single administrative position was cut in the JCSS. Zero.

No wonder the system has such high administrative cost; it keeps promoting people to the level of their incompetence over and over and over.

When faced with incompetence, public education seldom treats it as it would be treated in the private sector. Incompetence in public education is protected and shielded. Nobody ever gets fired.

There are some school systems, of course, where incompetence isn’t tolerated. But those systems are few and far between.

Most school systems, including the JCSS, simply play musical chairs with incompetent teachers and administrators. Move’em around and hope nobody notices.

What’s really infuriating about all this is that it just makes the pay gap between teachers and administrators even wider. Most school administrators are grossly overpaid; the gap between their salary and the average teacher’s salary is a wide gulf that transcends any common sense. JCSS administrative pay should be cut at least 20 percent.
The Morris proposal echoes an earlier move by the JCSS to promote one of its best principals out of a school, making her human resources director. She kept her high administrative pay, but the system could have hired a HR person from the private sector for half that amount.

When public school systems begin to hire and fire based on competency, then the public might begin to trust again. But as long as school systems simply move people around and protect favored administrators, the public will have no faith in the system.

It’s a good thing that Morris may be taken out of KBMS. Perhaps the system will hire someone who is a stronger leader to take her place (given the system’s history, I’m not holding my breath.)

But to protect her by simply moving her around and keeping her high salary in place for a food services position would be a crime against the taxpayers of Jackson County.

How the hell could the Jackson County BOE justify doing that?

Mike Buffington is co-publisher of Mainstreet Newspapers and editor of The Jackson Herald. He can be reached at mike@mainstreetnews.com.