When the five members of the board present--Mark DePace, Kjisten Gustavson, Amanda Grubler, Diana Howard, and Maureen Sheridan--discussed the candidates, Sheridan and Howard expressed support for Zibella, while Grubler and Gustavson spoke in favor of Asbee. After briefly recounting the assets each of the four could bring to the board, DePace, now the BOE president, declared his support for Zibella, citing his regular attendance at board meetings and the fact that he had been a candidate for the school board in May, trailing DePace by only 72 votes.
The board was three in favor of Zibella, and two in favor of Asbee. The support of four was needed to make an appointment. Gustavson suggested that they wait until Matt Mackerer, who was absent from the meeting, could be present to weigh in. From the audience, Asbee asked if she could withdraw from consideration, which prompted Grubler to shift her support to Zibella.
There was then a motion, which passed, to appoint Zibella as the new board member. He was then promptly sworn in by BOE clerk Leslie Coons.
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| Photo: Lance Wheeler |
Congtrats to Mr. Zibella. I wish him a successful term. But the challenges are tough, beginning with the task of finding a new superintendent and a track record that's not too hot. From the discussion last night -- which included hiring costly outside consultants and the question from one meek board about whether it was okay if she looked for candidates -- it sounded awfully familiar. The bigger problem is finding someone who knows how to spell academics and curriculum. A district with three-quarters of the students reading below grade level is not doing the right thing. And there are plenty of districts with similar demographics -- e.g. poverty, broken families -- who do just fine when they institute programs proven to work. So far, this board has not shown any urgency in a) taking responsibility for the dismal academic performance of our kids or b) finding the solutions. --peter meyer
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