Dear George,

I write to you again in regards to the School Board's discussion of using Ray & Associates and or VSBA, and also pushing to hire a Superintendent before July 1.

Certainly the most concerning issue to me and many is the push to hire in haste without a chance for input from many quarters, without regaining the public confidence and without letting the City Council appointed Commission have a proper chance to do its work (it was noted by Ms Smith that the board was deadlocked 3-3 on this issue). The discussion that night was not an abstract exercise - Chairwoman Smith was looking for votes on this approach and was suggesting possible routes in order to proceed.

I apologize, that in my disbelief that the proposal of considering Ray and Associates for a second go round was even on the table, if I left the impression that using Ray and Associates was the only option Ms Smith and Ms Grunland presented. I did mention that the VSBA was involved in this scenario in my email to you and to the Progress (the VSBA component was actually the lead in the Progress story). Ms Smith did present the use of Ray and Associates as a viable option. I did not hear Ms Smith, after offering Ray and Associates as an option, state that this was a poor idea. In fact there was support for using Ray & Associates elsewhere on the board.

The second most concerning issue was the requirement, by VSBA and supported by three on the board, of secrecy in this proposed two month search process. Many on the board advocate an open board and a search process open to input from the commission, principals, and community. Ms Van Yahres noted that she was not afraid of advice from people with other experiences and perspectives and in fact welcomed it - though ultimately she would be the one casting her vote. I welcome and applaud such an inclusive and open minded approach.

Regards,

Arthur Lichtenberger (electronic mail, May 8, 2005)