Piled Higher and Deeper -

Piled Higher and Deeper - The Coalition of Black Churches has succeeded in scuppering the nomination of David Jennings for Minneapolis School Superintendant.

The group scuttles away from the "race card" label - and it's probably fair that they do.

But their real reason is almost as bad:

"Terrill said that in the end, the Jennings controversy was not so much about race as it was process and qualifications. Jennings does not have a Ph.D., and search guidelines say superintendent candidates should have one.

'I'm sick and tired of people trying to make this a race issue,' Terrill said. 'It's not. If they put forth a black candidate that was as unqualified as Mr. Jennings, we'd have the same problem. But if they put forth a white candidate with a Ph.D. who is qualified, we will support that candidate.'"

Jennings "only" has a Bachelors' Degree. That seems to be a sticking point.

Personally? I think the Minneapolis district in particular would be improved if they found a solid administrator who was capable of making tough decisions and facing down the most rapacious demands of the teachers union, degree be damned. Remember - the PhD they're talking about is Education. Read a few episodes of the St. Cloud Scholars for background; the more PhDs in Education I meet, the less qualified I think they are to teach, much less run school districts.

Posted by Mitch at October 9, 2003 06:17 AM