There’s still time for openness in CR superintendent search

So Cedar Rapids' superintendent search is down to three finalists, but their names are being kept confidential.

'At this point in time, we are not bringing any candidates or names to the public,” School Board President Mary Meisterling said in an email Monday. She said the board's search consultant offered up five candidates, and three were invited for interviews. Two were interviewed Sunday and one will be interviewed today.

'Once those are complete, we will decide on next steps that may include an open process. All of the candidates are gainfully employed and have requested confidentiality,” Meisterling said.

It's disappointing, but not surprising.

The board's search consultant, Bill Attea, of Chicagoland-based Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, has, from the beginning, recommended full confidentiality. It's just so much easier than letting pesky folks who pay the bills keep tabs on what's happening. And, after all, the very best candidates, Attea contends, usually prefer to play hide-and-seek with both their current district and the one they hope to lead.

It's lousy advice, to put it mildly. There's no good reason why parents, staff and taxpayers shouldn't know who the finalists are, and have a chance to scrutinize them before a top candidate is anointed. To argue the comfort of a few skittish applicants outweighs the need for transparency and accountability in hiring the leader of Iowa's second largest school district is ridiculous.

The fact that each of the finalists requested confidentiality doesn't speak well for their potential commitment to openness as superintendent. Also disappointing.

Secrecy is unnecessary. A 10-second Internet search will turn up all sorts of school districts from Stevens Point, Wis., to Elma, Wash., to Florence County, S.C., where superintendent finalists have been announced to the public. Closer to home, Iowa City shared names and held public forums with finalists. Many, many school boards have shown that they are accountable first to district residents, not a search firm or a job candidate.

Sure, there were public meetings in Cedar Rapids in January to gather input on what attributes people would like to see in the next superintendent. But without knowing anything about candidates who made the final cut, it's tough to judge fully how well those sentiments were followed.

There's still time for Cedar Rapids' board to think twice and reject this advice. There's still time to announce the finalists and even give district residents a chance to meet them. If candidates can't live with that, maybe they're not a good fit. This is a plumb job. I believe the candidates would agree to transparency, if the board asserted its desire for openness.

What's more likely is that the public will be given a chance to meet the top candidate only. Clearly, that's better than nothing. But the public's ability to influence the board's final choice at that point will be very limited.

This is a huge decision, for both the district and the entire community. Shutting out that community at this critical moment is the wrong way to go. Open the doors.

l Comments: (319) 398-8452; todd.dorman@thegazette.com