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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us January 12, 2006 Stop the politics and sign the contract A lack of leadership has led to the current state of affairs regarding Superintendent Juli Di Chiro. Ironically, the new school board, while charged with ensuring the district is headed by capable leadership, has positively muddled the entire process. The result: Another fine mess at the highest levels of city leadership. The board now has an attorney, the superintendent has hers as well, and the clock is ticking toward a Jan. 31 deadline. By then, the school must decide whether to offer Di Chiro the three-year contract she is demanding, a one-year contract a majority of the board prefers, or simply sever ties. This can’t be what anyone had in mind on election day, least of all the candidates themselves. While never publicly naming it as such, a slate of opposition candidates — opposed to the decisions of the then school board, opposed to Di Chiro’s tough-minded, business-like approach to serious problems in handling declining enrollment, and vehemently opposed to the shuttering of two of the city’s elementary schools — ran for election. For the most part, the slate won, seizing control over the board. But the group took office too late to do what they wanted most, namely to keep Lincoln school open. So while this new majority is very clear that they want more community-oriented leadership with less of a focus on those pesky bottom-line enrollment and budget figures, it has proven over these first months in office to be less clear on what they can do it about it now. Most of the community heartily embraces the overall philosophy and community goals this school board often talks about. But the elephant is still in the room, namely Di Chiro. Firing your CEO is often a painful process. So the board talked vaguely about needing time to evaluate Di Chiro and advocated a one-year contract, seemingly hoping for a quiet, peaceful divorce. Di Chiro, seeing it for what it was (Let’s be clear here. A one-year contract at this level is a polite way of saying, “clean out your office, but... you have a year to do it.”) demanded a three-year contract and hired legal representation. That is called leadership. That is the same tough decisiveness that led Di Chiro to maintain fiscal responsibility without sacrificing education standards. It is the same tough leadership that led to closing the schools in a timely fashion to ensure the least amount of disruption to the community. If this school board doesn’t know Di Chiro well enough by now, they haven’t been paying attention. She’s had a five-year tenure leading one of Oregon’s finest school districts through a brutal period of poor funding by the state Legislature. Ashland has repeatedly scored at the top of virtually every statewide standard of measurement. Parents still place a premium on their kids attending Ashland schools. A basis for dismissing Di Chiro doesn’t exist and the board has failed to produce one. In an era where city leadership is sorely lacking decisionmakers and problemsolvers, Di Chiro is an exceptional exception. With most of the executive leadership within the city in a state of change, the schools could ill-afford to suffer through a lame-duck period of trying to replace its superintendent. This board and Di Chiro aren’t the best of friends. But they can work together in creative tension, that is, a community philosophy empowering a decisive leader who can put such philosophies into specific plans that achieve success. Stop the politics. Give Di Chiro the contract she has earned. It’s time to move forward. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Online Pharmacy Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams