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Viewpoints

Superintendant's Firing
By Dan Williamson

 

April 1, 2007
Sunday


After watching the Wednesday night's school board meeting, I was curious to see the public's reaction to superintendent Martin's dismissal. I knew there would be an uproar of public opinion and a request for a recall of School Board members and sadly to say it has already started.I would like to add my views on a few subjects pertaining to these matters,though that's all they are, my personal opinions.

First the superintendent was dismissed by a majority board decision of a board elected by a majority of the voting public (if you did not vote don't complain) so they must be representing some one. I may not have voted for many of them and I may not agree with them on many subjects but I believe they do what they think is best for the school system. I don't believe any of them has a vendetta with Mr. Martin. Having been involved in many businesses, I know how difficult making this type of decision is. But if you have an employee who you perceive as difficult to work with or is not performing his duties to your standards, then it is best for both parties to end the working relationship asap!

Whether Mr. Martin was doing a good job is debatable. I believe there are reasons unknown to the majority of the public that led to his dismissal. Should these matters be aired publicly, possibly. Yet I felt the board didn't want to go into great detail about Mr. Martin's shortcomings in a public forum. Although they had every right to do so they chose not to and I think they should be commended for this. Mr. Martin however had no such reservations as he singled out and publicly attacked the moral character of three board members. Did they respond in kind? Not at all. I applaud Mr. Lieben for realizing that Mr. Martin's egotistical diatribe brought into question Mr. Martin's own character and voting with the majority. Was Mr. Martin good for the district? Probably. Were there some questionable decisions made by him? Most likely. Are there some budget problems attributable to he and his business manager? I believe so. Will we be better off with him replaced? I hope so. However only time will tell.

We need to move forward and not waste our time and resources with non productive activities. If you disagree with the board's decision, meet with them individually and discuss it. If you still disagree don't vote for them at the next election.

Dan Williamson
Ketchikan, AK



Received March 30, 2007 - Published April 01, 2007

About: "50 year resident"

 

Related News:

School Board fires Martin - The Ketchikan School Board Wednesday voted 4-3 to fire Harry Martin; Board Members Carl Webb, Russell Thomas and Matt Olsen voted no. During public comment at least 25 people spoke about the agenda item to terminate Martin's contract that... Read more...
Ketchikan Daily News - www.ketchikandailynews.com (Subscription Required)

 

 

 

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