Marietta Board of Education members say they feel they made the right choice in approving a three-year contract for a new superintendent last week, despite some criticism from district residents who say they feel left out of the process.
The board unanimously approved a three-year contract for Herb Young at its Nov. 24 meeting, four months into a year-long contract as interim superintendent that Young began in August.
Some parents now say they're concerned about a lack of notice that the decision was being made and that there was no request from the board for community input on the choice
"I was surprised," said Sherry Oliver, 44, of Marietta. "It wasn't necessarily a bad surprise but I was just surprised, and on a decision this major, the community shouldn't be surprised. We should have known this was being considered and voted on right now, without having to dig to find out."
Board member Greg Gault said the vote was simply an attempt to ensure the district could hold on to an administrator the board felt was doing a good job.
"It certainly wasn't a move to deceive the public or squelch input," he said. "We felt it was the right thing for us to do to provide (Young) with some security because he had made a commitment to us. He's been a very good find for us, and it's not like there is a line of people waiting to be superintendent right now. The pool's pretty shallow."
Board President Jack Moberg said the community could have voiced thoughts on Young's performance at any point since his interim superintendent contract began Aug. 1.
"We have a meeting each month; we all have phone numbers and e-mail addresses available," he said. "If anybody had any concerns or reservations they had ample time to express them."
Young could not be reached for comment Monday.
Parent Julie McCauley, who has two children in the school system and has been part of a community superintendent selection committee in the past, said she's not upset that Young has the job, but that there wasn't an open discussion of a possible contract extension.
"I've had nothing but good, positive interactions with him," she said. "But I think when the board agreed to give him an interim position - a temporary position - that when they wanted to make that a three-year contract, the taxpayers did have the right to know."
McCauley, who has been a candidate for the school board, said she does check board meeting agendas on the district's Web site but often finds them not posted much in advance of the meeting.
"I had no idea this was about to happen," she said. "Why not put that out there in advance so people had the opportunity to comment at a meeting? Maybe no one would have shown up or maybe 200 people would have, but it would have been out in the open."
Although hiring of employees can be discussed by boards in closed session, many districts allow community members to meet and even interview superintendent candidates before they are hired, as the Marietta district has done in the past.
Moberg said circumstances were a little different since Young was already in the district as a superintendent and no other candidates were being interviewed.
"Frankly, that's not a process I'm anxious to repeat," he said of the community meetings during the hiring process. "I think we were elected to do the very best job we can for Marietta City Schools, and I think we've done that with this and in other ways. The last thing we wanted him doing was calling someone else (for a job)."
Since Young has already spent months in the district, residents may actually be more familiar with him than they could have been after a meeting or interview before hiring, said Gault.
"He was probably part of the longest interview process any superintendent has ever been through," he said. "He was an interim, he knew he had a one-year contract, and he was being scrutinized from the start."
