A Leap of Faith

the Franklin County School Board last week approved the hiring of a new principal at the consolidated school, another chapter in what could only be described as a saga.

While the district licks its wounds over state testing grades, elected officials have narrowed their search for the successor to Dr. Isaac Neal.

Here's hoping the choice turns out to be a sound one because Robert P. York will have several significant hurdles over which to leap.

The first charge will be to bring stability to the district, particularly at this crucial time of consolidation.

To say that the process of providing leadership to a county, a school, undergoing the seismic shift of consolidation has been a challenge is to call Madonna a publicity hound.

The district has long gone through principals like water, particularly at the high school level, and Dr. Neal's messy departure over what could be fairly characterized as a personality issue with the superintendent simply should not have happened.

Whether or not Dr. Neal was liked among faculty and students is beside the point, when a district is attempting to consolidate students from the county's disparate areas under one roof, gleaming new buildings will never be enough.

Stability in leadership is essential.

Some of the fault for Dr. Neal's departure rests squarely on the School Board.

While board members possess, by law, limited say over personnel decisions made by the superintendent, board members, recognizing that the superintendent would not be around to see consolidation to the finish line, should have assured that the principal would be, personality issue or not.

For a district already wrestling with image problems, Dr. Neal's departure only feeds the perception that when it comes to planning there is no long-term vision.

It is a sign of priorities tipped on their head that building a multi-million dollar sports complex seemed of higher priority to board members than maintaining a constancy of leadership at the consolidated school.

Students and teachers, to perform at their best they need dedicated leaders on whom they can count - and not just beyond the current school year.

It seems telling that York and his family decided that his wife and children would stay put in Michigan for the school year and visit during the holidays. History has almost certainly informed that decision and being from outside the county could not help, any more than it helped Dr. Neal.

Further, it seems that York and the district start behind the eight-ball considering that he will not report to work until two weeks prior to the arrival of teachers, which seems not exactly the action of somebody eager to step into the fray.

Finally, York will have to overcome a perception that he does not possess sufficient teaching experience and virtually no experience as a school leader, both of which mean much to the rank and file of the district.

Remember, this district has many, many fine, hard-working teachers and non-instructional personnel.

They have performed, sometimes brilliantly, in often difficult conditions - what with changing administrators and locales - and the school grades recently released is not an accurate reflection of the job done in the classroom.

While school accountability is a fine thing in its place, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, one single test, does not an accurate reflection of achievement in the classroom make.

Long ago, the Florida Legislature passed a law which broadened the qualifications for school principals specifically to bring in expertise from other areas of the workforce.

In concept not a bad idea, but for the rank and file who strive hard under a pile of paperwork and state mandates, scant educational background can be the scent of disconnect from educational mission.

York must work hard to overcome that perception and demonstrate he is a willing and flexible leader, open to ideas while challenging the status quo for better and demanding discipline.

It is a tall job, one that will not be easy, but one which York seems to have the varied background to pull off.

The trust here is that the district has found the person to lead it through some turbulent times and that a new superintendent will only feed the feeling of fresh air being breathed into the system.

Hopefully, the district has turned a corner here because looking back, and hindsight is always 20/20, history is not a positive predictor.