It wasn’t supposed to be about her. But last night’s public hearing by the Baltimore County School Board on the qualifications for the next school superintendent turned into a referendum on interim school superintendent Verletta White.
In the lobby of the George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology in Towson, Oakleigh Elementary School Principal Sharon Mason was handing out white carnations to those who came out to support White.
“We know her,” Mason said. “We trust her. She’e been a great leader for us in the past year.”
A number of school employees were also dressed in white to show their support for the interim superintendent. That’s in spite of the fact the notice about the hearing specifically said it was not supposed to be about her. White, who came to listen, was asked about that.
“Although it’s a little awkward for me it’s not about me,” White said.
But in reality, it was.
White became interim school superintendent after Dallas Dance resigned from the job last April. Dance last week pleaded guilty to four counts of perjury and is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
Like Dance, White did not report money she received for outside consulting work. Unlike Dance, she has not been charged with a crime. White said she made an honest mistake, whereas prosecutors laid out evidence against Dance that he covered up payments he received. White has corrected her financial disclosure forms and pledged not to take any more outside money.
That is not good enough for Michelle Pulliam, who has two children in the county schools.
“Ultimately our BCPS students deserve a superintendent who models the type of person we want our children to be,” Pulliam said. “And Mrs. White is not it.”
Jasmine Shriver, a long time education advocate, said the next school board should decide who the permanent school superintendent will be. Baltimore County residents will vote for their first partially-elected school board in November. Shriver believes the current board favors hiring White.
“And I believe you’re rushing this,” Shriver said. “You are putting a show on that lacks integrity.”
But White’s supporters, like County Council Chairman Julian Jones, pointed to White’s experience in the county schools, rising from teacher to interim school superintendent. Jones for months has been calling on the school board to hire White permanently.
“It’s unfair to tie her to Dallas Dance and his misdeeds, and somehow disqualify her and her 20 plus years of service to Baltimore County Public Schools because of this,” Jones said.
The school board now has to decide what to do. It could hire White. Or it could ask the state for permission to keep her on as interim school superintendent for another year, passing on the final decision to the next school board. Or it can launch a nationwide search for a new superintendent. Even though that person would have to be hired and in place by July 1, board chairman Ed Gilliss says there’s still time to pull that off.
“Search firms, that’s their business,” Gilliss said. “And if you tell them how much time you have, they’ll develop a methodology to afford a good search within the time allotted.”
As for when the board will decide what to do, Gilliss couldn’t say. Board member Julie Henn for one, wants a nationwide search.
“We need to let the public input guide our requirements for the superintendent and let the process work through,” Henn said.
Board members were told last night the next superintendent should, among other things, be a teacher, take violence and bullying in schools seriously, have a vision, and be ethical.
