OPINION - EDITORIAL

NWA editorial: Through choppy waters

Fayetteville recalibrates course toward future

The good news as kids got their start in Fayetteville Public Schools last week is the ship of education, not long ago caught up in choppy waters, appears to be on course. The annual voyage of learning began on Monday with sails full, a new captain at the wheel to navigate charted waters in which unexpected dangers can still lurk.

The administrators and educators, whether new or veteran sailors, climbed on board aware of the challenges this and similar vessels throughout the state face. Being responsible for imparting knowledge to the next generation is no simple undertaking. Becoming distracted in the midst of the journey can be costly. And the school district in Fayetteville has undoubtedly been distracted.

What’s the point?

Hiring of a new superintendent in Fayetteville provides hope that the school district is navigating toward better and less chaotic days.

The leader everyone expected to be in charge instead instead went overboard. Maybe it could be said he was forced to walk the plank, but without question he was responsible for putting himself in water way, way over his head. He should count himself lucky not to be keelhauled.

It took a while -- much too long -- but the school board freed itself of a man who, on the surface, appeared to have charted a hopeful course for everyone aboard. It fired Superintendent Matthew Wendt after allegations of sexual harassment from a school district employee and evidence of his involvement in an extra-marital affair with the same employee.

Navigation skills aside, a ship's captain cannot lead a crew once his behaviors raise questions about his judgment and commitment to the well-being of everyone on board come into question.

So Fayetteville Public Schools have now formally hired a new leader, one who has spent 43 years learning about every nook and cranny of the vessel so many are relying on for safe passage -- for their careers, for their education. John L. Colbert is at the helm, entrusted with the title and responsibilities of superintendent. As a leader everyone on board was familiar with, Colbert seems to have been able to steer this ship quickly into calmer waters so that the crew and passengers can go back quickly to their important duties and opportunities.

It's not that the storms have disappeared. They're just off in the distance, where the old captain was set adrift. Let him deal with the conditions he steered himself into. It's good to see he was offloaded before he could scuttle the ship.

As much as we may fault the school board for letting the situation surrounding the former captain linger, they've shown wisdom in steadying the ship with its new hire. And, in the contract with Colbert, they have recognized a need for a few additional provisions. It makes it easier to relieve a future captain for neglect of duties; for failing to comply with school board policies, including sexual or other harassment or discrimination; for being arrested or facing criminal charges; and for conduct the board deems unbecoming to the district and its reputation.

Lest anyone think otherwise, a contract isn't just about the new captain of the ship. Sometimes it has a lot to say about how the relationship with the previous leader turned out.

It was worthy of a hearty laugh that the school board's president, Justin Eichmann, said the new contract provisions were not related to the former captain of the ship. He's an attorney, so we might forgive him. Where most people recognize a comment as a real eye-roller, attorneys and politicians fall into a trap. They worry about positioning, about plausible deniability.

They forget most people aren't dumb enough to believe what they're saying.

In any case, contracts don't make the person. They're critically important. But if we've learned nothing else in all of this, it's that the measure of a leader is in what he does every day and in how he treats others. Everyone, even when no one is watching.

It matters a great deal because it's chaos when the people aboard a ship are not interested in taking the same journey or if a leader chooses to focus on his own wishes at the expense of everyone else.

With an experienced leader in charge, Fayetteville has rediscovered its bearings and, we hope, return to its charted course toward brighter futures for everyone on board.

Commentary on 08/18/2018

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