Wow, I've been a bit remiss! My plan was to post daily, or nearly so... Too many irons in the fire I guess...
I don't really know Shane Backlund. He was principle at John Campbell part of the time my daughter attended and we've exchanged greetings. Seems like a nice guy. But that is not why I support him as the new Superintendent.
Why do I support him? Mostly because he is 'home grown'. I'm a big fan of promoting from the inside whenever possible. I've never a been a fan of hiring outside people... you truly don't know them or the baggage they may be dragging along. Just look to the last Yakima Police Chief for an example of this... (although much of his baggage wasn't really a secret for those of us paying attention)...
Shane has been with he district for many years, and while we don't know for sure what direction he wants to take the District, we have a pretty good idea of who he is and what shortcomings he may have. (I don't mean to say he has shortcomings... I'm not close enough to him to know. I'm just saying those who have worked with him would know.)
The outgoing superintendent, Steve Chestnut, is an accomplished man. He has the awards to prove it. He was a fine choice as an interim superintendent, a position which he was initially hired to fill. But this man never had any intentions of staying, and has used his wife's health as his reason for seeking greener pastures. He should never have been offered the position for the long-haul... which he obviously wasn't committed to anyway. My daughter is in 5th grade and we're going on the 4th superintendent in her short time in school. This is too much turnover and not good for the District.
Shane probably isn't here long-term either. I'd guess he will be here longer than the past two, and I'd hope he is here at least five years for the District's stability. But I won't hold this against him as he is young and will be looking for greater challenges.
From my seat, it looks like the Selah School District is in good hands for the next several years. And I'm glad to see it.
No comments:
Post a Comment