Letter to the Editor

Politics, Jobs and the School District

Larry Murray

 

Mr. Highsmith:

 

In Wednesday’s edition of the Keynoter, you were interviewed regarding your having made a recommendation of Randy Acevedo, the defrocked superintendent of schools, for a position at FKAA.  In the course of that interview, you spoke out regarding your policy as a Board member when it came to making personnel recommendations to the School District.

 

Specifically, you were quoted as saying:

 

“I do not believe that it is appropriate for individual School Board members to lobby the superintendent regarding individual employment issues, and it is not a practice that I will engage in as a School Board member.”

 

You go on to say:

 

“As a member elected to the School Board, I don’t think it appropriate for me to serve as a reference for anyone seeking employment there.”  

 

I find both of those statements refreshing and encouraging, though I am not certain that many who voted for you will find your position on employment in the School District as gratifying as I do. We all know that the citizenry of Key West, Conchs and Bubbas anyway, consider jobs in the School District and other government agencies, e.g. FKAA, to be part of their birthright.  For you to say that, as a Board member, you will be neutral in any hiring decision is indeed music to my ears and many others who do not reside in Key West.  You can be sure that we will monitor your behavior closely to be sure that you keep your word.

 

Along the same lines, it will be very interesting to see what position you take on moving District headquarters out of Trumbo Point to somewhere “up the Keys”.  Ed Davidson has been a strong proponent of that since coming to the Board and Ron Martin made that a pillar in his reelection campaign.   The question is who will be the swing vote and in what direction, literally and figuratively, will that vote be cast.

 

I hope that as you cast your ballot when this issue arises that you take the same “what’s best for the District” attitude that you are taking with regard to employment.  Obviously, should District headquarters operations be moved, for example, to the empty space at Marathon High School, that will have an impact on District employment and employment practices.  A move of fifty miles is likely to discourage certain applicants while encouraging others.  I would expect that certain pressure will be brought to bear on you with regard to your vote.

 

As you take your seat on the School Board, bear in mind the old Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times.”

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