Friday, June 28, 2002
The board member wrote that residents shouldn't let personal issues distract them from acting in the best interest of the pupils.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Don George says that, despite claims to the contrary, residents here were acting in the best interest of pupils in May when they asked the school board to promote Dante Zambrini.
"We were here, plain and simple, because we care about the kids," said George, president of Canfield's teachers union.
About 200 teachers and local residents showed up at the May 28 board meeting to ask the board to promote Zambrini from assistant superintendent to superintendent.
The letter
Board member Bruce Brocker recently wrote an open letter stating that the discussion at the meeting was "not about the well-being of the students at all."
"The educational well-being of the students continues to improve," Brocker wrote. He paid to publish the letter in a local newspaper.
Brocker said after Thursday's board meeting that he felt the residents were "here for Dante."
"I, and many of those that are here tonight, take offense to that," George said. About 50 residents attended the meeting.
George stressed that about half of the 200 residents at the May meeting were members of the Canfield Education Association, which represents 195 teachers and tutors in the district. Many of the others were residents who volunteer in the schools, he said.
"They're here to work on behalf of the kids," George said.
Brocker's letter also stated that Canfield residents shouldn't allow "personal issues" to distract them from acting in the best interest of the pupils.
He added that he won't allow pressure from "special-interest groups" to influence his decision on who the board should hire as superintendent.
Finalists
The board has started interviewing seven finalists to replace Superintendent Doug Hiscox, who has told the board he plans to resign Jan. 31 for personal reasons.
The finalists are Zambrini; James Gray, retired Oberlin superintendent; Dennis Kowalski, Strongsville superintendent; David Macali, Ashland superintendent; John Reno, Newbury superintendent; Charles Swindler, Western Reserve superintendent; and Bill Williams, an adviser at Penn State University.
The CEA asked the board to promote Zambrini to interim superintendent as soon as possible. Zambrini would serve alongside Hiscox, saving the district the cost of hiring a new superintendent for now, George said.
He added that the union feels Zambrini can help strengthen the relationship between the district and the community to pass a school operating levy this fall. A 6.9-mill, five-year additional operating levy failed in the May primary.
Board member Martha Zarlenga also expressed concern about the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that the Cleveland school voucher pilot program is not unconstitutional.
She said she felt the vouchers took needed tax dollars away from public schools to fund parochial and private schools, including Islamic schools.
Zarlenga stressed that while she didn't think all "Islams" were bad, "there's a lot out there that we have to be careful of."
hill@vindy.com