Who's Flying This Thing?

On Monday, January 4, San Diego Unified School District issued a news release for a special meeting to take place the following day to discuss "whether the district needs a school superintendent in the future."

The press release indicated that school board trustee John Evans had stated that some school board members are considering alternative models of leadership to the one that currently exists. According to the news release, one of the alternatives is "a team of leaders with equal power that report to the school board."

By 10:30 a.m., the posting had disappeared and was replaced with the brief headline: "San Diego Unified's school board leaders say the panel is considering whether to reorganize the office of superintendent."

Ever since former school superintendent Terry Grier left for a higher paying gig in Houston last August, San Diego Unified school officials have scrambled, searching to find the right fit to head up the district in charge of educating 135,000 San Diego students. Historically, superintendents and San Diego Unified haven't meshed. Since 2005, there have been five superintendents, including interim Bill Kowba, who filled the vacant position this past September.

Pulling the initial notice and then posting another is one indication that the district is unsure which direction to go. Another indication was included in the summary for the January 5 special-meeting agenda: "The board will review and discuss alternative models of school district leadership currently being used in other districts. In addition, the board is interested in discussing and reviewing other models, which may not currently be in existence elsewhere in the country."

The January 5 special meeting will be held in room 2226 at 2 p.m. in the SDUSD administration building in University Heights. For more info, go to sandi.net.