Warren schools chief’s leaving shows cracks in hiring process

Bruce W. Thomas had not even completed a year as superintendent of the Warren City School District before he decided to call it quits. His resignation leaves the urban school system high and dry — despite what members of the school board are saying.

What is particularly galling about Dr. Thomas’ decision to leave is that his departure date isn’t for a couple of weeks, but he has been gone since late June. How is that possible? Because the three-year contract he entered into with the board apparently provided for the accumulation of vacation and sick days within the first year.

Indeed, the superintendent’s resignation may have preempted any action by the board to deny Thomas’ use of the days he accumulated.

It is noteworthy that Thomas did not have the decency to resign in person, but did so via email. In it he said he had grown increasingly uncomfortable with board decisions since his hiring in June 2011. His official start date was Aug. 1

The superintendent did not elaborate, nor did he accept an invitation from board President Regina Patterson to meet with her and her colleagues.

“While I would have liked to have continued moving the district forward academically when I was hired last June, I have become increasingly less comfortable with the decisions the board has been making,” he wrote.

For a veteran educator who had served for three years as school-improvement coordinator for the Ohio Board of Education, the manner in which he quit leaves a lot to be desired.

At the very least, the residents of the Warren school district deserve a thorough explanation for his abrupt departure. Board members were obviously surprised.

The public is left to speculate, and his being romantically involved with an employee the school board hired at his recommendation is cited as a reason. The employee was let go when there was reduction in force.

Another reason could have to do with the insistence by the school board that he take up residence in the district, as he had reportedly agreed to do as a condition of his employment.

But the reasons for his resignation tell just one side of the story.

The other is the school board’s willingness to enter into a contract that made it so easy for the district’s top man to walk away without a face-to-face meeting and a detailed explanation.

Given that Thomas had spent a year as superintendent in Marietta before he came to Warren, and before that a year with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, did red flags go up when Warren board members were getting ready to hire him?

Did they ask Thomas to explain in detail why he didn’t stay longer in those jobs?

Probation

Based on that record, was any consideration given to placing him on probation and making it clear in the contract that his resignation within the first year would deprive him of any vacation and sick days he had accrued?

The board is to be commended for seeking the best — at least on paper — to lead the academically challenged school district.

But what has taken place in Warren with Thomas’ contract spotlights a common practice: Make the candidate for superintendent or some other top position an offer he or she can’t refuse by loading up the employment agreement with sweeteners.

Given the tight operating budgets, a reduction in state funding and taxpayers’ unwillingness to approve new school levies, school boards need to temper their willingness to hire anyone at any cost.