Seattle Public Schools: waiting to exhale

IT is worth reminding the Seattle School Board it is in charge when it takes up Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson's employment contract Wednesday evening.

The board, not the superintendent, is responsible for the five-year strategic plan driving changes in the public schools, including the neighborhood-based student-assignment plan, restructuring programs serving gifted or bilingual students, as well as changes in how schools are funded.

A fair question is whether the superintendent is implementing the strategic plan as the board envisioned. The answer is yes.

But the board must also own up to its vision. This is critical because as widely lauded as Goodloe-Johnson's moves have been, including creating a more efficient, quality system — the swift churn of change has made her a lightning rod of dissent.

Goodloe-Johnson is not much help in this vein. Frankly, she is more wooden than Al Gore.

Leadership style matters because even if the chief is overseeing the school system ably — and we believe she is — the community must be brought along. Parents must be helped to understand the sacrifices they are being asked to make.

In a smattering of the city's 90 schools, teachers have signed petitions expressing a lack of confidence in Goodloe-Johnson. This misguided effort appears to be more about policy issues such as charter schools.

Criticism found on one petition that Goodloe-Johnson is "corporatizing" the schools is puzzling. Anywhere else, the schools chief would be lauded for leveraging educational and philanthropic connections that provide badly needed money for the schools.

The petitions' efforts fall flat. Rather than fighting against nonexistent charter schools or criticizing the superintendent for hustling private money sorely needed, critics should invest considerable time and energy into helping Goodloe-Johnson succeed.

Leadership turnover comes at a steep cost to classrooms. For a public holding its breath amid the churn of educational transformation, continuity and renewed efforts are better choices than starting over.