Sometimes indecision and a little delay isn’t such a bad thing.
This week, the South Whidbey School Board wrestled to fill the District 2 seat, which has been vacant since Fred O’Neal resigned in late August. While the board was ultimately unsuccessful in selecting one of two candidates, the outcome was no failure. Rather, the board’s decision to bring in a bit of outside help, an expert in education if you will, was a demonstration in good government and institutional humility.
The board met Wednesday to select O’Neal’s replacement. The candidates included Jordan Nelson, a state ferry captain, president of the South Whidbey Youth Football League and parent to two district students; and Julie Hadden, a retired educator with 34 years of experience — primarily working in Southern California school districts — as a superintendent, assistant district superintendent, instructional aide and teacher.
Due to a potential conflict of interest, Director Damian Greene stepped away from the initial round of voting. It wasn’t legally necessary, but was done voluntarily to preserve public trust. Not all elected officials are so willing to sacrifice their say when such circumstances arise, and Greene’s character and moral fiber should be noted.
State law, however, brought him into the fray after all as the remaining three board members were split on their choice and a consensus of three is required for an appointment. While his vote did nothing to break the stalemate, as it was now 2-2, board members showed their mettle in not caving simply to make a decision. Too often, elected officials change their vote in split decisions to resolve the issue, and that’s unfortunate. Voters elected them to make decisions, not give up for the sake of public appearance or so everyone can get along.
Finally, the decision to involve a specialist was a different and good way to tackle the issue. Rather than passing the decision to a higher body of elected officials for resolution, such as the Island County commissioners, the board agreed on a solution that gives each director more time to weigh their choice and hear the perspective from an expert.
One poor choice was the board’s decision to retire to more than one executive session. In this situation, state statute limits the conversations that can be had behind closed doors to the discussion of candidate qualifications — that’s it. It’s hard to believe that couldn’t be accomplished in a single sitting. It’s our hope that the next time the candidates are interviewed the board’s debate will be done in full view of the public, unless of course the candidates’ qualifications change between now and then.
And, keep the coin tosses to a minimum. It’s something used to decide who does the dishes, not the next appointed school board director.
