Jobs Sane People Don’t Want

Today’s Edition: Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools. The P-I reports that the school board has narrowed the field down to two candidates with experience in tough urban districts back east – Philadelphia and Charleston County. This school district is like a big blind elephant on ice skates and it needs a perspective untainted by the community's deep-seated factionalism, and both candidates look resilient and smart to me. And really, we should all just be glad that Norm Dicks backed off, no?

Next step – elect a new school board? Don’t hold your breath, but it’s not like we couldn’t benefit:

The district's consultants, Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Ray & Associates, had encouraged the district to keep the candidates under wraps until now to avoid a repeat of the district's last superintendent search, in 2003.

That search, which cost about $60,000, imploded when all four finalists withdrew their names after facing intense public scrutiny and mounting criticism from parents, politicians and education advocates. The major complaint was that candidates weren't properly vetted -- leading to some unsettling revelations late in the hiring process. […]

Unlike the last superintendent search, there will be no public forums with the finalists. The two will meet with members of community groups at invitation-only sessions Thursday and Friday evenings, which will be broadcast on Channel 21.

Just one more reason why I detest most local governments. Hmm, I love the smell of incompetence and opacity in the morning.