Just wanted to weigh in the comments about events and circumstances
surrounding our Superintendent.
Until sometime late Thurs., most of the Board did not feel that Dr. Johnson
was seriously considering the Nashville offer. Over the weekend we all
were in contact with Dr. Johnson to try to convince her to stay. With no
meeting to deal with the issue, most members of the board had individually
expressed their concerns over her possible departure with Catherine and
had, without a meeting or being lobbied, stated that matching the salary
offer was an option. So Catherine let Carol know that on Sunday.
At an earlier Board meeting, all Board members present told the community
we would do what ever it took. I had pledged that I would do all within my
power to keep our Superintendent. On Monday, I returned a call to a
reporter from CH. 4 and said that the Board was prepared to match the
Nashville offer, although we had not taken any formal action in any
meeting, because we hadn't had one.
The mood on Monday was very somber. In her article on Tues., Allie Shah
talked to Asst. Super Kay Sack who described the mood as that of a funeral,
that was very accurate. So I can only surmise that Nashville got that
information from the reporter. I never talked to anyone from Nashville. I
do not know what if anything, other Board members said to anyone at any time.
The Sunday before, when Catherine and I were talking with Carol, she had no
reaction to the offer to match their offer. The Board members, knowing
Carol as we do, never felt it was about money.
2 other points, when the Board meets to discuss contract negotiations,
legal actions, or any personel issues, they are by law allowed to do so in
closed session. The vote on contracts and the contracts themselves are
public. The discussions leading up to that point are confidential. Also,
in Nov.2000, we offered to up Dr. Johnson's salary $25,000 and she
declined. We were able to get her relunctantly to accept a $10,000 raise
and a bonus of $10,000. Dr. Johnson took her bonus and donated it to
several schools for supplies. At this point, Dr. Johnson has not accepted
the current offer, and we will not know or take any formal action until
later in the summer.
One learns something new every day, today is no different. In the Star
Tribune Editorial by Mr. Tanik, I learned that the Supreme Court had ruled
that actions such as Nashville's could be litigated. The Supreme Court
ruling deals with the private sector, I do not know if it relates to the
public sector as well. As Chair Shreves stated, we were not going to vote
to let her out of her contract, but that we would not take legal action as
a Board to keep her against her will.
Dr. Johnson is an outstanding Superintendent. Great ones are in short
supply, they don't grow on trees! For us to find a new Super would mean
hiring a transition superintendent or team to run the district while a
costly and lengthly search was under way. Nashville started looking in
January to my understanding. To conduct a search costs between $50 and 100
thousand dollars on top of what it costs to pay the interim person or
persons. It takes, on average, 6 months, but sometimes years. I think St
Paul worked for a year and a half before finding their superintendent.
Meanwhile, traditionally districts mark time or slip in programs and
progress.
If school districts are really willing to let go of someone, then it's
"caveat emptor" buyer's beware. If they are reluctant, or super reluctant
as we were, there is a reason. Luring someone of Dr. Johnson's caliper to
this city and this state in the times as they are with urban public
education as the new whipping post of the far right would have been very
costly. And here's what private schools pay according to the Strib's Dec.
2000 report on non-profits, here are the salaries of the top leaders of
these private local schools--
* Blake = $232,085
* Breck = $224,441
* St. Paul Academy = $181,575
I feel sure that the challenges faced by those schools do not outweigh
those of the Minneapolis Public Schools.
The value of Dr. Johnson can not be measured in money alone but in the time
and relationships, the trust and the hard work that she puts in every day.
Our one concern about her as a Board is that she works too hard, and may
need to take a little more personal time. One person who knows her very
well remarked to me just a few months ago that this district is her heart
and soul.
I am sure there will be detractors of any move or action we make in the
public sector, such is the nature of democracy. And that's as it should
be. As a Board, we know it was worth it to keep Dr. Johnson. Minneapolis
is a far better place having her here.
Audrey D. Johnson
MPS Board of Education Director
10th Ward
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