These three School Board Members ; Steven K. Teuber, District 4 (Vice Chairman), Mary Fischer, District 1, and Jeanne S. Dozier, District 2 should have never allowed Superintendent Nancy J. Graham to be put into a position where she felt she had to resign.
The School Board by law is charged as a policy making board not a day by day operating board, that’s the Superintendents responsibility. But Teuber, Fischer and Dozier likes to micro manage all the situations.
Graham is a confident and mission oriented leader and is well liked by the staff, but working with these third board members that clearly questioned her leadership and hurt her with verbal attacks at school boards is nonprofessional and unethical when it comes to board members.
Graham has endured a board that refused to accept her recommendations, and continually ridicule her decisions publicly.
This school board has to fix its own house before hiring another superintendent who may face similar battles.
The public tension between Graham and the board, and now her resignation, does not build confidence for Lee county voters or residents, the business community and other school district partners wanting strong leadership to help set a positive tone for economic and student development.
The fact that the board is increasing to seven members next year, may not be a confidence builder for anyone considering the job with more personalities at play.
We wish Nancy Graham the best of luck. She cared about students and their performance. She does believe in public education and its merits. The classroom, for her, was a place where young minds came alive.
What is your opinion?